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> The description of the Great Plains soundscape reminds Adrian KC Lee, an auditory brain scientist at the University of Washington who was not involved in Vele

> The description of the Great Plains soundscape reminds Adrian KC Lee, an auditory brain scientist at the University of Washington who was not involved in Velez’s study, of sensory deprivation or being in an anechoic chamber—a room designed to stop echoes. In those cases, even the smallest sound, like the rustle of clothing or even your own heartbeat, can become impossible to ignore. As Lee pointed out, the human brain will naturally adapt to its environment, essentially turning up or down the volume to better distinguish what’s going on. This reminds me of a story, I believe it was told by Joseph Goldstein to Sam Harris (but I could be mistaken), about learning to meditate in noisy, urban environments. It makes me think this method and process could illustrate what the author is talking about. I live in a fairly quiet community. I’ve become aware of people in our community through mutual acquaintances, friends and family, who have trouble sleeping at night without the television on. From what I’ve read, this is a common problem with people who suffer from anxiety and depression. So I think prairie madness might have exacerbated already existing mental health conditions in a select group of people. On Reddit this week, there was a popular video posting of a little boy sleeping peacefully on a chair as a loud mariachi band plays near his ears. How is this even possible?

noman-land 4y ago
I fell asleep sitting on the floor leaned against a wall during a heavy metal show. I was completely sober. Sometimes when you're tired, you're tired.
- sammalloy 4y ago
  Are you able to fall asleep easily and deeply at home? I’m a light sleeper, and I’ve often felt like a cat when I sleep. The sound of a mouse would wake me into a running sprint. My mother is the same way, but my father is not, so we joke that I inherited it from my mom, which makes a lot of sense given that I take after her. I’m just wondering if these things contribute to our overall state of awareness and normal waking consciousness. More topical, I enjoy silence, likely as a result of being a light sleeper. So I think I would be mostly immune to prairie madness. It’s also possible that it’s spectrum related in terms of noise sensitivity. One of my first memories was freaking out at a Warriors game as a child because of the noise levels. Interestingly, the spectrum issues come from my father, so there’s a strange mix of genes at work.
AlbertCory 4y ago
I was in the Stanford Symphonic Chorus in the 1990s, and there was one woman who had a helper dog. We did Carmina Burana. The dog came on stage with her, and slept right near the tympani's. I was amazed.
- sammalloy 4y ago
  I love Carmina Burana. Do you remember how "O Fortuna" captured the public imagination when the film Excalibur (1981) used it, and then a year later, HBO began showing it nonstop?
  - AlbertCory 4y ago
    Once you know the opening bars of O Fortuna, you hear them absolutely everywhere. Unfortunately, the only words I can remember are O Fortuna! Velat luna. I know, I know, I could look it up.
HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
> little boy sleeping peacefully on a chair as a loud mariachi band plays near his ears. I've slept soundly while off watch on a ship with pneumatic chisels and hammers chipping paint off the other side of the steel bulkhead I was sleeping next to. I've seen people fall asleep in a bosun's chair dangling 50' above the water. Some of us can sleep anywhere :-)
hnick 4y ago
My dog happily sleeps with all kinds of noise going on. While he's fairly smart I think there's not a lot of introspective thought in his brain. Probably the same for a kid compared to an adult, or an anxiety-ridden adult compared to a more healthy (if that's the right word) one. My wife can turn off and sleep in under 5 minutes, but leave me alone with my thoughts in the quiet and dark and I'll tell myself stories for hours in a very alert state where tiny noises make my heart race. I don't remember being like this as a child.

noman-land 4y ago

I fell asleep sitting on the floor leaned against a wall during a heavy metal show. I was completely sober. Sometimes when you're tired, you're tired.

sammalloy 4y ago
Are you able to fall asleep easily and deeply at home? I’m a light sleeper, and I’ve often felt like a cat when I sleep. The sound of a mouse would wake me into a running sprint. My mother is the same way, but my father is not, so we joke that I inherited it from my mom, which makes a lot of sense given that I take after her. I’m just wondering if these things contribute to our overall state of awareness and normal waking consciousness. More topical, I enjoy silence, likely as a result of being a light sleeper. So I think I would be mostly immune to prairie madness. It’s also possible that it’s spectrum related in terms of noise sensitivity. One of my first memories was freaking out at a Warriors game as a child because of the noise levels. Interestingly, the spectrum issues come from my father, so there’s a strange mix of genes at work.

AlbertCory 4y ago

I was in the Stanford Symphonic Chorus in the 1990s, and there was one woman who had a helper dog. We did Carmina Burana. The dog came on stage with her, and slept right near the tympani's. I was amazed.

sammalloy 4y ago
I love Carmina Burana. Do you remember how "O Fortuna" captured the public imagination when the film Excalibur (1981) used it, and then a year later, HBO began showing it nonstop?
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  Once you know the opening bars of O Fortuna, you hear them absolutely everywhere. Unfortunately, the only words I can remember are O Fortuna! Velat luna. I know, I know, I could look it up.

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago

> little boy sleeping peacefully on a chair as a loud mariachi band plays near his ears. I've slept soundly while off watch on a ship with pneumatic chisels and hammers chipping paint off the other side of the steel bulkhead I was sleeping next to. I've seen people fall asleep in a bosun's chair dangling 50' above the water. Some of us can sleep anywhere :-)

hnick 4y ago

My dog happily sleeps with all kinds of noise going on. While he's fairly smart I think there's not a lot of introspective thought in his brain. Probably the same for a kid compared to an adult, or an anxiety-ridden adult compared to a more healthy (if that's the right word) one. My wife can turn off and sleep in under 5 minutes, but leave me alone with my thoughts in the quiet and dark and I'll tell myself stories for hours in a very alert state where tiny noises make my heart race. I don't remember being like this as a child.