Seeing Sound - Not a Case of Synesthesia

In the late 1800's Ernst Chladni (/(ˈklɑːdnɪ) /) a German physicist and musician, made it possible to SEE sound, translating sound frequencies into patterns using sand and a vibratory plate. 

The generated patterns formed in and between the empty spaces into both the familiar and abstract.

Since then, people have replicated Chladni's experiments, infusing creativity and various materials into the process. From simple drum-type surfaces made from oatmeal containers to finely-tuned frequency generators and Tibetan singing bowls to substituting cultured heart cells for sand and salt that would sort to nodes and anti-nodes.

We can learn a lot from how our own brains work by looking at the different ways non-traditional cognition works. One example is synesthesia, where sensory inputs get re-routed and/or amplified in an estimated 2-4% of the population. In basic terms, synesthesia is an ability that allows some people to smell sounds, taste colors, or when music becomes associated with a subset of shapes or colors. I describe it as an ability rather than a disability, though I imagine being inundated with colors when smelling food can make for an experience akin to a psychedelic mushroom trip or in more contemporary terms using ayahuasca. But, synesthesia can provide us with critical insights into brain processes that are transparent in the conscious state to people with synesthesia but are hidden in the rest of us. 

A variation on this transmutation across and through mixed sensory signals and channels takes on new meaning as mathematics savant Daniel Temmat describes the progression of shapes and colors in how he sees the number Pi out to 22,514 places. The artwork by Temmat below shows his depiction of Pi - an interlocking maze of co-related shapes.

For all we know about neuroscience and the inner workings of the brain, we know very little. This theme is pervasive in The Chladni Progression - The Power to Heal in recognizing there is a world beyond our five senses, our technologies, and our ability to comprehend many of the unknowns and "what ifs." We may not be able to hear a dog whistle because our "sensors" are not fine-tuned to that frequency, but the sound, the vibration is nonetheless transmitted through the air - albeit silently for us - but it is still there. We are hurtling through space at a speed of 18.5 miles/second (67,000 miles per hour, 107,000 km per hour), yet we have no conscious perception of that motion. 

In air, the speed of sound is 343 meters/second (1,125 feet/second); in water, the speed of sound increases to 1481 meters/second (4859 feet/second); and, through a solid 6,000m/sec (19,685 feet/sec) as measured at a given temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees F).

In "The Power to Heal" Blaise studies Tenzin's sounds across two broad scales as if the sounds move at sonic or subsonic speeds within a relative frame of reference to the immediate space and time, and to the greater space and time beyond the confines of how our scales are measured.  

One of my favorite Blaise-isms is when he is speaking with bioengineer Rand Hastings, one of the Quantum Medical scientists:

...I know what I know and know enough to know I don’t know $hit, which keeps me always on my toes wanting to know more.

In an age where access to knowledge is only a click away, being a lifelong learner has never been easier than it is now. 

Are we smarter or better for this ready access? Have we lost our edge by relying on computers and AI for routine tasks? How has our processing speed been impacted? How have our brains changed, are they getting bigger or smaller? 

The context of Blaise's "know" discussion above is the subject of the next blog post on patterns. 

Chladni Progression "isms" - wisdom from Blaise, Max, and Tenzin will be available in the future - will post information here and on the Chladni Progression website.

LINKS:  Make your Own Chladni Plate || Chladni Figures || Stanford Research - Sound Healing