I read the paper's abstract. They're not actually claiming what commenters here think they are. They're saying that there's some sort of pipeline processing for the task of "listening to speech" and when the subject switches focus from listening to one speaker to another, that pipeline has to drain. And the new stream pipeline has to get loaded up. Not actually surprising when you think about how it would have to work. The same thing likely happens with vision.
EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
111–120 of 193 posts
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your example is needlessly bleak, but in general: yes, we're a social species and being able to process multiple speech streams seems obviously pretty important in many social contexts involving more than two people.
Seems doubtful to me that there will be any hardware in our species specific to processing language. It's going to be the same basic hardware as Chimps. Whatever is going on that's related to us being a social species is all software.
Uh, there definitely is "hardware specific to processing language" for our species, they even have their own wiki pages[0][1].
And in general our brains differ significantly from that of a chimpansee. Human brains push neuron density to to absolute limit within the animal kingdom and have unique evolutionary adaptations that allow for it. As a result our species also has mental health disorders unique to us that seem to be cause by the neurons being pushed past that limit.
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#113I knew a few ham radio guys who could copy Morse code at greater than 20 WPM and simultaneously carry on a conversation.
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#114If you couldn't process multiple streams ( audio/visual/other senses ) how would you ever be able to monitor the background for danger and context switch? There is a difference between conscious experience and what's going on in the background.
There’s a big difference between processing multiple streams, and processing multiple streams simultaneously. You can achieve the former, without the latter, by doing time slicing. Spending a small amount of time processing stream A, then dropping that and processing stream B for a moment, then swapping back. Just like how a single core CPU can process multiple threads. Proving the brain is continuously processing an…
> Spending a small amount of time processing stream A, then dropping that and processing stream B for a moment, then swapping back. Just like how a single core CPU can process multiple threads.
The brain isn't a computer with a single CPU - just because computers are built that way doesn't mean the brain is.
Ie it's only surprising if you start with an erroneous computer based model of how the brain works.
The paper is interesting in that it looks at a core interesting issue - which is how conscious attention is managed given we know that behind the scenes it's 'everything all at once'.
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've noticed something similar. I can listen to audiobooks and follow/absorb what is going on without really paying attention, as long as I am not trying to read something. I can't follow an audiobook and read at the same time. This is probably because I subvocalize when I read. I have taken speed reading courses but I don't enjoy reading that way. I like feeling every word as I read.
I read by imagining a voice saying the words. Is that not how everyone reads?
I have two modes of reading - when I read a story to enjoy, I read it to myself with inner voice saying the words (like internal audiobook). When I read to gather information quickly, I try to just absorb as much keywords as possible by quickly glancing at text and trying to directly absorb the text, rereading where needed.
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've noticed something similar. I can listen to audiobooks and follow/absorb what is going on without really paying attention, as long as I am not trying to read something. I can't follow an audiobook and read at the same time. This is probably because I subvocalize when I read. I have taken speed reading courses but I don't enjoy reading that way. I like feeling every word as I read.
I read by imagining a voice saying the words. Is that not how everyone reads?
No, I can do both but absorb much better when I internal monologue it but can read much faster when I don't. Some people don't internal monologue it at all.
If you're in the market for another "wait I thought everyone did it X way?!" surprise look up aphantasia where some percentage of people can't mentally "picture" items and there's a whole spectrum of vividness. I've yet to find someone not surprised by this no matter where they are on the spectrum.
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#117Related, but this reminds me of the story by Richard Feynman [1] when he practices counting up to 60 seconds in his head, and after many experiments around what he can do simultaneously conclude that he can simultaneously count and read but not speak. Later sharing this to John Tukey, he's told that Tukey can't read while counting but could speak while counting. Turns out Tukey is visualizing looking at a tape, while…
> while Feynman imagined himself talking to himself
ironic )
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#118If you couldn't process multiple streams ( audio/visual/other senses ) how would you ever be able to monitor the background for danger and context switch? There is a difference between conscious experience and what's going on in the background.
This is about multiple speech streams. More specific from the mere ability to process multiple sensory streams in general.
Sure. Still don't see why the result is at all surprising.
If you couldn't process multiple streams ( I see nothing special about speech - note parsing speech is potentially different from thinking over the top - ie the difference between hearing and listening ) simultaneously it's hard to see how you'd last 5 minutes.
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you miss it, maybe she does too. You can still do it even though she doesn’t need it
Maybe. But as a parent, sometimes you have to make sacrifices (or force them to make sacrifices) as otherwise they won't have space grow.
Ugh, yeah. It’s the worst. It’s the best.
Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams
#120If you couldn't process multiple streams ( audio/visual/other senses ) how would you ever be able to monitor the background for danger and context switch? There is a difference between conscious experience and what's going on in the background.
There is also a different quality of processing. Textunderstanding and danger deciphering of signals.
Sure.
Have you ever listened to music while simultaneously writing a comment on hacker news - and managed the split cognitive load effortlessly?