Research results show that humans may be able to 'hear' silence



Even if the sound is the same length, one long beep sounds longer than two short beeps in succession. In a survey targeting , a research team led by Johns Hopkins University's Ian Phillips and others reports that silence distorts the sense of time, just like the sounds you actually hear.

The perception of silence | PNAS

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301463120



Echoes of Absence: Study Suggests We Can 'Hear' Silence - Neuroscience News

https://neurosciencenews.com/hearing-silence-23610/

Silence can be 'heard', can distort one's perception of time, research says
https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/entertainment/2518954-silence-can-be-heard-can-distort-ones-perception-of-time-research-says

Experiment Shows Humans Really Can Hear Silence After All : Science Alert
https://www.sciencealert.com/experiment-shows-humans-really-can-hear-silence-after-all

``Philosophers and scientists have debated whether silence is perceptible, but no scientific research has attempted to resolve this debate,'' said research team member Chaz Firestone. So, I thought that if we can get the same illusion of sound that we actually hear from silence, it will be evidence that our brain can perceive silence as well as sound.”

The research team applied the illusion that one long beep sounds longer than two short consecutive beeps, called 'One Is More Illusion'. In the experiment, sounds were played to simulate a busy restaurant or train station, and all sounds suddenly stopped, resulting in a brief silence before the sounds were played again.



The experiment, which involved a total of 1,000 people, was called ``One Silence Is More Is More Illusion,'' and participants were asked ``Which one had the longest pause?'' Done.

As a result of seven tests, participants found that one long pause was longer than two short pauses in silence, as in the original 'One Is More Illusion' throughout all experiments. Reported. ``The unique illusions and effects that appear in auditory processing of sound occurred even in silence, which suggests that humans can hear silence,'' Phillips said.

``Silence is not literally sound.



In the future, the research team plans to investigate whether silence other than silence due to sound interruptions can be heard, as well as to the extent that silence can be heard. Depending on the research team's future research results, it is expected that it may be useful for treating various hearing impairments.

in Science, Posted by log1r_ut