Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [perception]

16 questions
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Do expensive, "premium" speaker cables make a difference?

I was tempted to go drop $8500 on these awesome speaker cables so I could be like Whiplash (see customer pictures), but I'm curious, if I use them for my audio system, will they actually make a perceptible difference over some low gauge copper…
Nick T
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Could people perceive the color blue in ancient times?

This article claims that no ancient language anywhere in the world had the word for "blue", that for instance Homer described the sea as "wine-dark", and that the color blue has only appeared more recently in languages, more or less at the same time…
o0'.
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Are there any perceptible differences between the sound quality of 192 versus 320 kbps MP3 files?

I have friends that are very picky when it comes to MP3 bitrate, and will always look for the 320 kbps version of a file. However, I have never noticed any differences, they sound the same to me. I remember reading somewhere, can't remember where,…
Mihai Rotaru
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Is the sound from records (vinyl) superior to digital formats (CDs, music files, etc.)?

Quasi-related Are there any perceptible differences between the sound quality of 192 versus 320 kbps MP3 files? Do expensive, “premium” speaker cables actually make a difference? I've heard this here and there in various casual conversations…
Hendy
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Can people read much faster than 400 words per minute?

While investigating the topic of speed reading for a school project, I came across this Slate article. The general idea (which I encountered in most articles I read which discussed this topic) would be that speed reading is not a skill that can be…
Mihai Rotaru
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31
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What is the commonly accepted mechanism that causes people to experience pareidolia?

I often see cases of pareidolia reported in the news, on blogs, and even here. I think remember reading in Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan that this had an evolutionary origin (i.e. if you see a familiar object and it isn't there, that doesn't…
Larian LeQuella
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Was it common to perform surgeries on babies without anesthesia because doctors felt they weren't "conscious enough to feel pain"?

The claim was made on parenting.se that "not so long ago, babies were operated on without anaesthetic because they weren't considered 'conscious' enough to feel pain".* A Google search revealed several other references to this claim. I've heard of…
Beofett
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Did sailors mistake sea cows for mermaids?

I've heard theories that mermaid sightings were the result of sex-starved sailors mistaking manatees, dugongs or Steller's sea cows for beautiful women. History.com claims Columbus did this, "How I met your mother" has an episode named after the…
Andrew Grimm
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Are first impressions unchangeable?

In one of my college psychology classes, a few years ago, my teacher claimed that first impressions drastically shaped our perceptions. To make his point, he said the following: At the beginning of a semester, researchers asked a teacher to enter…
Borror0
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Do women distinguish more colours than men?

In the first section (from the start up to about 55s into the video) of this amusing YouTube video about the differences between men and women, the following claim is made: Why do women distinguish colors better than men? The rear part of the…
matt_black
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Does the container that soda is in affect the flavour?

When I was a kid, a friend and I had a list of favourite containers for soda (specifically Coca Cola). We said that it tasted the best when coming out of a glass bottle and the worst from a plastic bottle. Our list went as follows: Glass…
DeVil
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Did Howard Stephen Berg comprehend 80 pages per minute?

On this video, Howard Stephen Berg appears as a guest speaker, where the host claims that he could read 80 pages per minute. That just seems impossible. I understand that speed reading is possible and successful to some extent, with a trade-off…
J.Todd
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Are blind listening tests flawed?

Blind listening tests are strongly critiqued by Robert Harley in this editorial, published in The Absolute Sound. Harley seems to think the tests prove nothing. Every few years, the results of some blind listening test are announced that…
StackExchange saddens dancek
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Did Native American trackers lose their tracking abilities when their hair was shaved?

Disclove.tv writes in "THE TRUTH ABOUT LONG HAIR" When questioned about their failure to perform as expected, the older recruits replied consistently that when they received their required military haircuts, they could no longer ‘sense’ the enemy,…
Christian
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Does Indonesian Kopi Luwak coffee have a distinctive taste?

The Indonesian Kopi luwak AKA civet coffee is the world's most expensive coffee at $160 per pound. Are there any testimonials, considering its premium price, that its taste even distinguishable compared to other premium beans?
KMoraz
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