Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

journals.plos.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 193 posts

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#171

Post by aatd86 »

willy_k wrote: post #129
aatd86 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you are downvoted. Well it probably doesnt require meditation because split attention is somewhat common here. My mother can follow multiple discussions like have a phone conversation and understand what I tell her. In general I can't. So a bit harder for me. I can focus on work and follow some podcasts but not speak and at the same time listen to a full parallel convo. I do believe brain to brain commun…

I say this as someone recognizing myself: learn the real, detailed, mechanistic, intelligible science. The world does not work like sci-fi, despite how many people make claims that amount to as much (with 0 actual evident evidence). That is not to say that all there is is what’s readily apparent. But when you forgo that assumption, you have to be careful because it easily slips into ur own understanding of what “ther…

Oh for sure, doing any otherwise would lead someone to psychosis very easily. Coming from a family of MDs and being educated in multiple scientific fields myself, I still don't have an answer. But one thing for certain, you have to disregard everything, including religious beliefs and go by the scientific method.

There are tell-tale signs that people will tell you to ignore like fasciculations (muscle twitching) noticeable with the naked eye which are a signs that neuro transmission is peaking more than normal (that would be glutamate-linked).

The problem is that people don't have an answer even after doing Root Cause Analysis. Leaves you like someone trying to explain how the sun looks to someone who is blind.

Occam's razor.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#172

Post by aidenn0 »

chrisbrandow wrote: post #87

Famously, the Apollo Mission control team learned to handle multiple conversations stream simultaneously. The side effect was that going to cocktail parties was a nightmare, because they couldn’t turn it off.

Dinners with my extended family are like this (everybody talking at the same time, most people participating in two simultaneous conversations). After moving away for college, my sister would not talk during dinners when visiting because she found it took her weeks to get back out of the habit again.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#173

Post by layoric »

dfgsdfgfgd wrote: post #122
shortercode wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, I experimented a bit with this when my daughter was younger. I used to walk around the room with her in my arms singing to get her to sleep. To ensure she would be settled I would then count 300 steps before putting her in the cot. I discovered I could count and sing at the same time by visualising the number in my head, instead of using my inner monologue. But it requires more focus to maintain. Thankfu…

It reminds a bit of musicians tracking rhythm. You can somehow feel a beat after a bit practice even when not directly paying attention to it and it's not too hard to associate it with an increasing counter (somehow). It sounds hard, but it is quite doable.

Very true. Strangely, I also found this in competitive games. You get a very accurate sense of cooldowns without consciously tracking them. StarCraft with different build times, Apex Legends with character abilities, etc.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#174

Post by bana-io »

NalNezumi wrote: post #70

Related, 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…

I liked your post and I enjoyed reading it, who doesn't enjoy reading about Feynman?

But let's get scientific about this, you say:

> The test is absolute. There's no way to beat it; no way to fake

Where's the proof of that?

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#175

Post by mega_dean »

xscott wrote: post #155
wincy wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, I often sing a good night lullaby to my kid and have discovered it’s trivial to read while doing so. But I just tried talking while counting in my head and it felt like a brick wall was blocking me.

Singing and playing guitar was super painful for me. Got easier after the first song, so now it's just painful to the people hearing me. I remember a story about people who stutter not stuttering while singing.

> I remember a story about people who stutter not stuttering while singing.

“Everybody's sayin' that the Scatman stutters

But doesn't ever stutter when he sings

But what you don't know, I'm gonna tell you right now

That the stutter and the scat is the same thing”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scatman_John

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#176

Post by singleshot_ »

sigmoid10 wrote: post #78
junon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes of course, the transmitted audio would be mono. I meant one radio in one ear and another radio in the other ear, or if you mix them and they both play in both ears. But it sounds like they're mixed (talking over each other in a single audio stream).

Yes. I have never seen any system (planes or elsewhere) that splits multiple voice communication inputs so you hear different streams in different ears. How would that be different (let alone better) than having both streams in both ears? It's not like your brain can process each ear separately.

> I have never seen any system (planes or elsewhere) that splits multiple voice communication inputs so you hear different streams in different ears.

PS Engineering PMA450B is one, but most GA aircraft I’ve flown work like this.

> How would that be different

It would be different based on the fact you’d hear one conversation in your left ear, and another in your right ear.

> (let alone better)

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder.

> It's not like your brain can process each ear separately.

Different brains function differently.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#177

Post by subhro »

CompoundEyes wrote: post #45
subhro wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are mono, but I was trying to say that with practice, you can process 2 independent audio streams simultaneously irrespective of whether they are mono or stereo. For example, I am able to keep track of 2 people talking at the same time. I obviously can't respond to both but can maintain independent contexts.

I think it was wondered whether you were having the independent streams panned hard to the left and right ears and if that had something to do with hemispheres of the brain and the processing efficiency.

That’s a super interesting question. I don’t think I isolate one stream to each ear since I can process them through headphones as well. Also routinely when I am working as a radio officer, I have conversations with live humans in the room while listening and responding to audio over RF through the headphone.

To be honest, I can’t articulate how I do it. I just somehow manage to do it.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#178

Post by johnisgood »

doubled112 wrote: post #131
johnisgood wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yeah, I have been sleep deprived so much that the things that I said made no sense. I still formulated sentences but they did not have any meaning. In fact, I noticed this myself and I was like "fuck, what I just said made no sense". This happened a few times. It is a pretty interesting experience.

This sometimes happens to me when I get a migraine. A sentence can be coherent in the formulaic sense, but complete nonsense as far as words. I immediately notice that it's incorrect, but I don't have the ability to fix it at that moment.

Yes! I immediately noticed that what I said was wrong (even though the word I said still felt somehow connected to the thought I was trying to communicate). I was really worried at first when it happened because at the first time I had no idea sleep deprivation would cause this, or that I would experience it.

I had no idea migraine causes this as well, interesting.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#179

Post by [deleted] »

layoric wrote: post #173
dfgsdfgfgd wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It reminds a bit of musicians tracking rhythm. You can somehow feel a beat after a bit practice even when not directly paying attention to it and it's not too hard to associate it with an increasing counter (somehow). It sounds hard, but it is quite doable.

Very true. Strangely, I also found this in competitive games. You get a very accurate sense of cooldowns without consciously tracking them. StarCraft with different build times, Apex Legends with character abilities, etc.

[deleted]

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#180

Post by vanderZwan »

chrisbrandow wrote: post #87

Famously, the Apollo Mission control team learned to handle multiple conversations stream simultaneously. The side effect was that going to cocktail parties was a nightmare, because they couldn’t turn it off.

Airport controllers (and similar positions for trains and metros) probably also suffer from this then
Post reply on HN