"I suspect the noisy gif phenomenon is closely related to what we call the Visually-Evoked Auditory Response, or vEAR for short," explained Fassnidge.
"This is the ability of some people to hear moving objects even though they don't make a sound, which may be a subtle form of synaesthesia - the triggering of one sense by another. We are constantly surrounded by movements that make a sound, whether they are footsteps as people walk, lip movements while they talk, a ball bouncing in the playground, or the crash as we drop a glass. There is some evidence to suggest that synaesthetic pairings are, to some extent, learnt during infancy."
"I might assume I am hearing the footsteps of a person walking on the other side of the street, when really the sound exists only in my mind. So this may be a common phenomenon because the sound makes sense, but for that exact reason we may not even know we have this unusual ability until the noisy gif suddenly came along in the last few years. What determines who experiences vEAR and how intensely is probably individual differences in how our brain is wired."
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42237092
I think the question "What do you experience when you watch this gif?" is perfectly phrased. I experience a sound but I don't hear a sound.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty close to "hearing" for me, even out of the corner of my eye. Not very loud though.
ReplyDeleteSame here Rhys Taylor. Seems like a conditioned response.
ReplyDeleteI hear nothing... Cute animation, though.
ReplyDeleteWow. I "hear" a very audible thud and "feel" a slight shockwave. WTH! I have tinnitus (thanks, Army), but couldn't hear that getting interrupted like some people in the article said. Oddly enough, the thud effect was louder when I first listened than now. I played the gif expecting to hear nothing, being rather skeptical and knowing that .gifs don't include audio, and was shocked to "hear" the thud.
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