5.9.1. In Action
Jon Driver from University College London1 took advantage of our experience with syncing language sounds with lip movements to do a little hacking. He showed people a television screen showing a person talking, but instead of the speech coming from the television, it was played through a separate amplifier and combined with a distracting, and completely separate, voice speaking. The television screen was alternately right next to the amplifier or some distance away. The subject was asked to repeat the words corresponding to the talking head on the television.
If they watched the talking head on screen nearby the amplifier, they made more errors than if they watched the talking head on the screen kept distant from the sound. Even though both audio streams were heard from the single amplifier in the two cases, moving the video image considerably changed the listener’s ability to tune into one voice.
This experiment is a prime candidate for trying at home. An easy way would be with a laptop hooked up to portable speakers and a radio. Have the laptop playing a video with lots of speech where you can see lip movements. A news broadcast, full of talking heads, is ideal. Now put the radio, tuned into a talk station, and the laptop speaker, in the same location. That’s the single amplifier in Driver’s experiment. The two different cases in the experiment correspond to your laptop being right next to the speakers or some feet away. You should find that you understand what the talking heads on the video are saying more easily when the laptop is further away. Give it a go.
Taken from : Mind Hacks
