The Guardian [London] / andante - 9 September 2003

   Scientists recently used a concert of contemporary music at
   London's Purcell Room to test the effects of inaudible vibrations
   on humans, the Guardian of London reports.

   The researchers hypothesized that "infrasound" below the range
   of human hearing - which can be produced by an organ - could
   provoke physical or emotional responses.  "Some people have
   suggested the presence of infrasound is causing unusual experiences
   in sites that are allegedly haunted," psychologist Richard Wiseman
   told the newspaper.  "Some organ pipes in churches and cathedrals
   produce infrasound and this could lead to people having very
   weird experiences within church and attributing it to God."

   To test these theories, scientists added infrasound to a program
   of contemporary music by Philip Glass, Arvo Part, Debussy and
   others.  They then asked audience members to fill out a questionnaire
   reporting on "unusual experiences" during the concert.  The
   pieces incorporating infrasound provoked 22 percent more such
   experiences, said Wiseman, including "shivering on [the] wrist,
   an odd feeling in the stomach, increased heart rate, feeling
   very anxious, [or] a sudden memory of an emotional loss."

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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