Why is 3D Binaural Sound So Damn Relaxing?

Sometimes when I'm having trouble sleeping, I listen to 3D binaural sound (also known as holophonic sound) to help clear my mind of racing thoughts and finally fall asleep. Binaural sound is a special type of audio recording that uses two microphones embedded in the locations of the ears in a dummy head. When listening to this holophonic recording through a pair of earbuds or headphones, the result is a compelling illusion that the recorded sounds are located in 3D space around your own head. Listening to the recording without earphones doesn't work and ruins the auditory illusion. These types of audio recordings elicit an ASMR response in many people: a pleasant tingling sensation in the scalp and neck. After listening to many of these recordings of rain storms, of a virtual barbershop, of a woman crumpling pieces of paper, and most recently of a guy slowly opening a box containing bubble wrap and a bag of sand...I wondered. Why is lying in the dark with my eyes closed, listening to a guy slowly opening a cardboard box, such an utterly relaxing experience? Why does it help me sleep and clear my mind?

Am I a crazy person?

 Binaural recording of a cardboard box being slowly unwrapped

I think the reason listening to these binaural recordings is so relaxing is because it closely approximates the practice of mindfulness meditation. As I understand it, mindfulness is essentially training your mind to let your present sensory experience wash over you, without judging it or interrogating it with chattering thoughts. One of the payoffs of this attentiveness to the present moment is that it allows you to escape, if only for a short while, from your anxiety about past mistakes, and from your worries about the uncertain future. It is very difficult to be envious of your neighbor, to be angry at your spouse, to be stressed about your job, or to agonize about money while lying in a dark and silent room just listening to a guy...slowly and carefully unwrap a cardboard box.


As I was recently reminded by an astoundingly clear-sighted lecture by Sam Harris, most of us spend our whole lives thinking mostly about the future and about the past, without ever truly connecting with the present moment. We get expensive University degrees, and get jobs to earn lots of money, and invest money over decades into a retirement account in the anticipation that we will achieve happiness at some distant point in the future. I guess listening to a binaural recording in the quiet secret spaces of the night is a tiny way to set all of that aside, and to be contented with the present moment for just long enough to be taken by the sweet embrace of sleep.

A poetic excerpt from the Sam Harris lecture "Death and the Present Moment"

Coca-Cola reminds America that it is beautiful. Some disagree.

During last night's blowout Superbowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos, Coca-Cola aired a commercial that was intended to highlight the inclusivity and the beautifully interwoven cultures that make up the ideal of the American Dream.

I thought it was a nice sentiment and an artfully produced piece of marketing, and then thought nothing more of it. But apparently some Americans publicly disagreed on Twitter and other social media platforms, and in ugly fashion.

This type of vehement negative reaction has surprised some people, but as an amateur student of history I am much less surprised. Xenophobia and ingroup-outgroup mistrust and hatred have been the historical norm for millennia. What is amazing when you really think about it is how far humanity has come in just the last few generations, and how the people who make these awful bigoted statements are becoming more and more marginalized. Not long ago awful statements like these on Twitter were rallying cries for elections and popular movements, and printed on the front pages of newspapers, and circulated nationally on pamphlets...not the subject of ridicule and condemnation. One does not have to look far into the historical record to find numerous examples of anti-Irish, anti-Polish, anti-Jewish, and most notably anti-African-American bigotry.

Anti-immigrant propaganda cartoon from 1896

I think the feedback loops inherent in the broadcast platform of Twitter, and the valuable social criticism as exemplified by the Public Shaming tumblr blog, is another reason why the internet is so awesome. I suspect that this internet feedback will quickly bring a about a revolution of thoughtfulness and consciousness-raising, and that this will be a much bigger effect in moving the world forward than most people realize. This type of virtuous cycle used to be a much slower process, and required curious and literate people to encounter books, magazine articles, and have personal relationships and experiences that would have the same effect. Now, people can be taken to task almost instantly for their bigotry and stupidity, and perhaps taken to task by someone all the way on the other side of the world. This is how change happens, and happens fast. How amazing is that?

Sculptris

Stasera, ho scoperto un programma per computer di scultura 3D.  Si chiama "Sculptris," ed è gratuito per il download.  Ho giocato con il programma per quindici minuti, e ho capito subito è molto semplice, facile e intuitivo.  Ho sempre voluto fare arte digitale 3D!  Sono entusiasta di utilizzare questo programma per lavoro e divertimento.

via Richard Potter (link)

Un nuovo nodo alle scarpe

Questa mattina, ho imparato come fare un nuovo nodo alle scarpe.  Si chiama "Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot."  È più sicuro di un nodo normale, ma anche meno voluminoso e più facile da sciogliere.  Credo che userò questo nodo d'ora in poi.

Danielle mi ha visto imparare a fare il nodo.  Ha detto: «Questo nodo alla scarpe sarà molto utile per i miei pattini a rotelle!»

Domani: il mio Kindle Paperwhite arriva!

Sono eccitato perché il mio nuovo "Amazon Kindle Paperwhite," un lettore elettronico, arriva domani!  Il nuovo lettore ha una risoluzione più alta (più pixel per centimetro quadrato), è più leggero e più sottile, e si integra nel display una luce a basso consumo energetico.  Darò il mio vecchio Kindle a Danielle.  Presto, ci avremo entrambi hanno i lettori Kindle!

Ho imparato a tingere un pezzo di stoffa

Sto raccogliendo materiale per il mio costume di Halloween.  Il costume richiede una giacca gialla.  Ma, giacche gialle sono rari.  Quindi, ho comprato una giacca bianca e lo tinto giallo.  Ha funzionato molto bene!

Ho usato colorante della marca Dylon, in particolare "girasole giallo."  Colorare la giacca era molto facile.  I passi sono i seguenti:  1) Lavare e inumidire il tessuto.  2) Aggiungere il pacchetto colorante, una tazza di sale, e acqua calda in un lavandino o una ciotola.  3) Tessuto immergere e mescolare  di tanto in tanto per trenta minuti.  4) Sciacquare e asciugare il tessuto.  Finito!

Il costume sarà l'uomo giallo, dal video di internet "Gangnam Style."  Il costume di Danielle sarà "l'uomo in ascensore," dal video stesso.  Credo che i nostri costumi saranno proprio fantastico!

-- Josef Spalenka

l'ufficio segreto di Google a Madison

Oggi, ho scoperto che Google dispone di un ufficio segreto a Madison.  Si trova in un vecchio magazzino di "International Harvester," un produttore di trattori e macchine agricole.  Danielle ha lavorato negli archivi di questo produttore proprio lo stesso!  È sorprendente che l'ufficio di Google è stato per cinque anni a me sconosciuti!

Apparentemente, l'ufficio segreto di Google a Madison ha dipendenti che sono tifosi del Green Bay Packers: