![]() ![]() Familiar and regularly patterned sounds, such as internal-combustion engines and air-conditioners, don’t wake us a new or irregular disturbance stands out, at least at first, amid the sonic clutter. Researchers into the neurobiology of hearing explain this phenomenon in terms of novelty and adaptation. ![]() The waking brain performs a similar filtering function in the urban soundscape, ignoring as many of the meaningless noises as possible. The brain must disregard a lot of ordinary metropolitan white noise, while remaining alert to unusual sounds that might be of vital importance. For people trying to sleep in the city that never does, though, all-night listening is mostly a liability. For early humans, who were trying to rest outdoors with predators around, this trait was presumably a lifesaver. Unlike vision, smell, and taste, all of which dim when consciousness shuts down for the night, hearing is a 24/7 operation. ![]()
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