Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!dscatl.UUCP!mgresham From: mgresham@dscatl.UUCP (Mark Gresham) Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest Subject: I got rhythm Message-ID: <19880926060109.3.NICK@INTERLAKEN.LCS.MIT.EDU> Date: 26 Sep 88 06:01:00 GMT Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 71 Approved: ailist@ai.ai.mit.edu ---- Forwarded Message Follows ---- Return-path: <@AI.AI.MIT.EDU,@KL.SRI.COM:dscatl!mgresham@GATECH.EDU> Received: from AI.AI.MIT.EDU by ZERMATT.LCS.MIT.EDU via CHAOS with SMTP id 195054; 18 Sep 88 22:10:01 EDT Received: from KL.SRI.COM (TCP 1200200002) by AI.AI.MIT.EDU 18 Sep 88 22:16:17 EDT Received: from gatech.edu by KL.SRI.COM with TCP; Sun, 18 Sep 88 19:08:37 PDT Received: from dscatl.UUCP by gatech.edu with UUCP (5.58/7.3.GT) id AA06164; Sun, 18 Sep 88 22:04:14 EDT Received: by dscatl.UUCP (smail2.5) id AA18893; 18 Sep 88 21:18:53 EDT (Sun) Path: dscatl!mgresham From: dscatl!mgresham@gatech.edu (Mark Gresham) Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest,rec.music.classical Subject: I got rhythm Message-Id: <11148@dscatl.UUCP> Date: 19 Sep 88 01:18:45 GMT Organization: Digital Systems Co. , Atlanta Lines: 52 In a recent articlePGOETZ@LOYVAX.BITNET writes: >Here's a question for anybody: Why do we have rhythm? > >Picture yourself tapping your foot to the tune of the latest Top 40 trash hit. >While you do this, your brain is busy processing sensory inputs, controlling >the muscles in your foot, and thinking about whatever you think about when >you listen to Top 40 music. >[...text deleted...] >It comes down to this: Different actions require different processing >overhead. So why, no matter what we do, do we perceive time as a constant? The fact is, we *don't*. (Take it from a musician!) Generally people have a quite erratic perception of time. Th perception (the top 40 example) is one of constancy in relationship to some other perceived event be believe to be constant (or assume is so). Hence, the "beats" in the music (which we deem to be regular) are giving us fresh input which we use to "correct" our foot tapping. >Why do we, in fact, have rhythm? Do we have an internal clock, or a >"main loop" which takes a constant time to run? Or do we have an inadequate >view of consciousness when we see it as a program? > >Phil Goetz >PGOETZ@LOYVAX.bitnet Try this experiment. Or several of you try it. Take a stopwatch (digital is preferable because silent). Don't look at it or any other clock, and don't count; press the start button. Then, when you think five minutes are up, stop it. Look at the watch and see how you did. I know of one percussionist who is said to be quite accurate. If you are really concentrating on "the passage of time" --genuinely trying to be aware of it--my guess is that you'll start to sweat (or otherwise become uncomfortable) after about 40 seconds or so. It takes quite a bit of discipline to empty your mind enough to successfully do that. Try it. Invent other similar experiments. Let me know what you discover. --Mark Gresham (please e-mail or post to rec.music.classical) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mark Gresham Atlanta, GA, USA UUCP: ...!gatech!dscatl!mgresham INTERNET: mgresham@dscatl.UUCP ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++