Hearing a GIF image with no sound.............................

[Freelander]

Interesting one - it works for me.
Amazing how the brain works.

How about you ?

(Sorry if it's been posted before - just saw it for the first time on the beeb.)
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42237092

[Halcyon]

Click bait at it's finest, although I suppose the human brain believes what it wants to believe. Didn't work for me, but then again, why would it? GIFs don't support audio.

[Freelander]

If you think that is 'clickbait' then I feel sorry for you. It is perfectly valid.

[Halcyon]

No need to feel sorry for me. Appreciate the thought though.

I tend to lump this kind of thing in the same category as hypnotism, it might work for some people but for the most part, it's bollocks.

[Freelander]

No need to feel sorry for me. Appreciate the thought though.

I tend to lump this kind of thing in the same category as hypnotism, it might work for some people but for the most part, it's bollocks.

Bit like your post then  


Now we have heard your, errrrrr, 'valued' input we can await other more 'rational' comments.

[martinator]

I sense high tension. No need to pylon the aggression.

[Freelander]

 
Sheeesh !
 

[Freelander]

I sense high tension. No need to pylon the aggression.

Perhaps - "highly strung" ....................

[Zbig]

I can't hear shit, either. And I consider myself rather susceptible to many kinds of audio-visual illusions.

[ChrisLX200]

Maybe your brain fills in the missing audio. It could be like bright-ish meteors, some people claim to hear a noise as it burns up, in fact although it appears bright it's not much bigger than a grain of sand and it's destroyed between 50 and 80 miles up so there's no chance of hearing anything.

[T3sl4co1l]

I feel it.

Specifically, what I feel is my inner ear tensing up, in anticipation of a sound, but not actually experiencing a sound.

That's likely the mechanism others are experiencing, or something similar.

The sensation is similar to the inner-ear tension I feel when listing to Dave sometimes (caused by the large dynamic range of clear, bright speech with no background sounds).  Which, in turn, is the thing that turns off a lot of possible viewers, and seems to turn on a lot of others (Germans, apparently?).  (Dave's already been over all of this stuff -- I'm just bringing this up for context.)

Tim

[Freelander]

Must confess, for me there is a definite 'sound' - it is like a low level base 'thump' in the ear and surrounding area. The effect, for me, is best with headphones on. (Volume OFF of course  ). I was using phones when I first saw the gif.
The ear 'tensing' is probably a very good description. (It also probably helps if you have seen the film Langoloiers by Stephen King.) - if you HAVE seen the film you will know what I mean.
Quite a surreal experience. Over ear phones really help - I suppose they cut out a lot of ambient noise and would also amplify and involuntary muscle tensing / release.
Must confess I have seen lots of visual illusions that are quite fascinating, but never an audio one - or lack of.

[mc172]

Specifically, what I feel is my inner ear tensing up, in anticipation of a sound, but not actually experiencing a sound.

Mr. 7 Transistors, this description is absolutely perfect, to the point where I didn't realise it until I read your post.

[Brumby]

There's nothing real about the audio - unless there's crosstalk between the video and audio in your computer.

Specifically, what I feel is my inner ear tensing up, in anticipation of a sound, but not actually experiencing a sound.

Which is a totally voluntary action.  I can 'play' rolling snare drum beats (as heard through a severe low pass filter) by just tensing the right area.  I have absolutely no doubt that people who claim to hear a sound are doing exactly this without realising it.

If I had to describe it, I would call it low frequency rumbling.  If people time their tensing with the rhythm of the GIF then the resulting effect meshes perfectly with the jumping pylon - which, if you notice is when the whole image frame shakes ... another visual cue for "hear the sound now".


So, yes, the perception of sound is all in your head.... but watching the GIF didn't trigger it for me either.


The GIF itself, however, did make me smile!

Edit: Spelling

[Halcyon]

Now we have heard your, errrrrr, 'valued' input we can await other more 'rational' comments.

You're welcome! I appreciate the acknowledgement that my comments were rational. It means a lot coming from you. ;-)

[Mr. Scram]

Which is a totally voluntary action.  I can 'play' rolling snare drum beats (as heard through a severe low pass filter) by just tensing the right area.  I have absolutely no doubt that people who claim to hear a sound are doing exactly this without realising it.

If I had to describe it, I would call it low frequency rumbling.  If people time their tensing with the rhythm of the GIF then the resulting effect meshes perfectly with the jumping pylon - which, if you notice is when the whole image frame shakes ... another visual cue for "hear the sound now".


So, yes, the perception of sound is all in your head.... but watching the GIF didn't trigger it for me either.


The GIF itself, however, did make me smile!

Edit: Spelling

Your ears also tense involuntary when they try to protect themselves from an imminent loud sound. It's called the acoustic reflex. I imagine the gif triggers this reflex in some people and that the muscle contraction is what people hear and perceive. Some feel the muscle movement, while others might actually hear it due to the structure of their specific ears. Others might not be triggered by the visual stimulus, or separate the muscle movement from actual sound.

Mercedes also uses the phenomena to protect people's hearing in a crash. They play a loud but not harmful sound right before a crash, so the ear is as prepared as possible for the actual much louder sound of the crash itself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_reflex
https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/next/connectivity/pre-safe-sound-playing-pink-noise-in-the-split-second-before-impact/

[Ampera]

This is pretty interesting. There is, as previously mentioned, no sound, and I could still "hear it" even with my headphones off.

The one thing for me, though, is that it's not a sound for me. It's more like a thump inside my skull than anything else.

[leeatljs]

I noticed it matched my heart rate.