Virtual sound images and virtual sound absorbers misinterpreted as supernatural objects Free

Complex sound behaviors such as echoes, reverberation, and interference patterns can be mathematically modeled using the modern concepts of virtual sound sources or virtual sound absorbers. Yet prior to the scientific wave theory of sound, these same acoustical phenomena were considered baffling, and hence led to the illusion that they were due to mysterious invisible sources. Vivid descriptions of the physical forms of echo spirits, hoofed thunder gods, and pipers’ stones, as engendered from the sounds they either produced or blocked, are found in ancient myths and legends from around the world. Additional pieces of evidence attesting to these beliefs are found in archaeological remains consisting of canyon petroglyphs, cave paintings, and megalithic stone circles. Blindfolded participants in acoustic experimental set-ups demonstrated that they attributed various virtual sound effects to real sound sources and/or attenuators. Ways in which these types of sonic phenomena can be manipulated to give rise to ultra-realistic auditory illusions of actual objects even today will be discussed relative to enhancing experiences of multimedia entertainment and virtual reality. Conversely, understanding how the mind can construct psychoacoustic models inconsistent with scientific reality could serve as a lesson helping prevent the supernatural misperceptions to which our ancestors were susceptible.