John MacDonald: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from John MacDonald, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

Watching lips say 'ga' while hearing 'ba' makes you hear a third sound
When the sound of one syllable is dubbed onto video of a mouth saying a different one, most people perceive a third syllable that matches neither the audio nor the video alone. It …
— Harry McGurk & John MacDonald, Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices
Watch a mouth say 'ga' while you hear 'ba', and your brain invents a third sound
In 1976 psychologists Harry McGurk and John MacDonald dubbed the audio 'ba' onto video of a mouth saying 'ga' and found that most viewers heard neither: they perceived 'da'. The il…
— Harry McGurk, John MacDonald, Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices

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