Can Sound Illusions Enchant Visually Impaired Listeners?

Author: Cell Press
Published: 2024/10/04
Publication Type: Research, Study, Analysis
Peer-Reviewed: Yes
Topic: Blindness and Vision Loss - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: If you're born blind, you'll likely never have experienced a magic trick, so can we create tricks that could be enjoyed by people with blindness.

Why it matters: This article highlights an important gap in the field of magic and raises questions about sensory perception and cognitive processes. By exploring the scarcity of auditory magic tricks, the research draws attention to the potential exclusion of blind audiences from magical experiences. This investigation not only challenges magicians to create more inclusive performances but also provides insights into the differences between visual and auditory processing in the brain. The study's findings could lead to advancements in cognitive science, potentially improving our understanding of sensory perception and illusions. Furthermore, by launching a competition for auditory magic tricks, the researchers are actively working towards making magic more accessible to people with visual impairments, promoting inclusivity in entertainment - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks, such as pulling a bunny from a hat or sawing someone in half, but tricks that rely on sound are scarce. A new article published in the Cell Press journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences on October 4 explores why creating a magical experience using only sound may be challenging and underscores the importance of making magic accessible to people with blindness.

Main Item

Are Auditory Magic Tricks Possible For Blind Audiences?

"Given that magic is about the conflict between perceptual processes and our beliefs, we should be able to experience magic in other senses, but it turned out to be really difficult," says corresponding author Gustav Kuhn (@GustavKuhn), an Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Plymouth. "If you're born blind, you'll likely never have experienced a magic trick. Why is that? Can we create tricks that could be enjoyed and experienced by people with blindness?"

Only a handful of tricks involve other senses, like touch, and virtually none focus solely on auditory perception. But auditory illusions are everywhere. Stereo sound manipulates audio timing between the ears, creating the illusion of sound coming from different directions. Movies use the Shepard tone, an auditory illusion that gives the impression of an endlessly rising pitch, to build unease and tension that keeps the audience on edge.

So, why are auditory magic tricks rare?

The researchers argue that the reason may stem from the fundamental differences between how the brain processes visual and auditory information. Humans are visual creatures. We tend to trust what we see more than what we hear, making us more surprised when our vision fools us.

Visual perception also reflects the state of the world, while auditory perception is transient. In other words, sound provides information about an event that has happened. Because magic relies on manipulating the perceived state of the world, this distinction between vision and sound may be at the heart of why auditory tricks are elusive.

"If you see a trumpet, you don't say 'I saw a perception of a trumpet,'" says Kuhn. "But if you hear a trumpet, you're more likely to say, 'I heard the sound of a trumpet.' This is the kind of difference we don't think about."

Another possibility is that magicians simply never considered creating auditory tricks, though the team believes it's unlikely given the creativity and history of the craft. Still, to find out, the team launched a competition challenging magicians to conjure tricks using only sound, with results expected in November 2024.

"Magic should not rely on vision alone, and yet it's nearly impossible to perform a trick that does not involve our visual perception," says Kuhn. "We don't fully understand why yet, but this is an interesting question that invites more investigation into our senses and may help make magic more inclusive."

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Cell Press and published on 2024/10/04, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, Cell Press can be contacted at cell.com NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.