Our brain processes what we hear in waves, with sensitivity to incoming sounds flickering between our ears a bit like the frames of old, silent movies, says new research.

Previous studies have suggested our vision works in a similar rhythmic, oscillating pattern, and now there’s evidence that hearing works in the same way – so our whole perception of the world around us is based on a kind of strobe-like effect in the mind.

One explanation for why this happens is that it helps us focus on the most important sounds in our environment, according to the international team of researchers. They also say it can help us place sounds in the three-dimensional space we live in.

“These findings that auditory perception also goes through peaks and troughs supports the theory that perception is not passive, but in fact our understanding of the world goes through cycles”, says one of the researchers, David Alais from the University of Sydney in Australia. “We have suspected for some time that the senses are not constant but are processed via cyclical, or rhythmic functions; these findings lend new weight to that theory”.

Using a simple noise identification experiment, involving 20 participants and 2,100 tests per participant, the research found that our ears take turns in being the most sensitive to sounds. This happens so fast – about six cycles per second – that we are not really aware of it. But it also happens to match the time it takes humans to make decisions: one-sixth of a second. (1)

Feeling the cosmos.

In cycles.

Sensing your surroundings.

Not all together, but in waves.

But the cosmos is not made out of waves.

The cosmos is the ocean.

Stop playing around.

Dive deep…