Brains conditioned by evolution may generate sound when none exists
Evidence
Is it possible that humans can never find silence because their brains and/or their nervous systems, conditioned by a long history of hearing, expect some kind of sound and therefore, when sounds are absent, make up their own? — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 333
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 333
- XREF: connects to: The brain fabricates phantom sound when expected sensory input is absent — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 324; Hearing loss causes the brain to amplify then fabricate sound as tinnitus — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 331; Hearing is mostly internal neural processing, not raw external sound reception — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 561 (+11 more)
Library Connections
- The brain’s evolved vigilance actively forecloses the possibility of true silence
#corroborates(0.85) - Absolute silence cannot exist because the body always produces sound
#expands(0.83) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 234 - Deep silence can feel like a sensory presence rather than mere absence
#corroborates(0.82) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 35 - The brain amplifies internal noise so total silence cannot be perceived
#expands(0.80) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 609
Broader Connections
- The act of hearing itself makes total sensory silence unattainable
#corroborates(0.78) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 526 - Humans internally carry oceanic sound because we evolved from aquatic ancestors
#exemplifies(0.65) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 607