Adam Devine Illumin Article

Binaural Beats: Acoustic Mind Control

Abstract

Since the creation of the worlds’ most popular religions such as Christianity, Islam,

Buddhism and Hinduism, music and sound have been theorized cultures to have healing properties. Now modern science is re-examining such ideas, having long dismissed these concepts as unsubstantiated, and research is showing that sounds administered through binaural beats have significant impacts on brain waves and thought processes. Using wave interference, acoustics and resonance of biorhythms, we can now activate neural pathways keyed to specific thought patterns. Binaural beats use two dissimilar tones, one in each ear, to synthesize an illusionary third tone within the mind. Unfortunately, the method of application and limited understanding of such a complex structure as the brain are currently the largest limitations.

There are also serious ethical questions associated with acoustically manipulating a mind, if only due to the ease with which it may be distributed through popular media. But the potential for such a technology is almost limitless when applied throughout the body, granting the ability to manipulate any electrical signal, and thus control any biological process we can identify.

One Of The World’s Oldest Ideas

For those completely unfamiliar with the topic, a binaural beat is a digital acoustic composition, meant to induce specific thought patterns when heard; a form of mind control for the scientific age. But this concept easily precedes the modern era by centuries. Humanity has a long and rich history in our attempts to manipulate others through indirect methods. From the witchdoctors and shamans of Africa to spells using the supernatural forces throughout Europe, all cultures have engaged the belief that a person could be controlled through manipulation of the mind. However, a common theme throughout this history of mental manipulation is its nearly exclusive use for nefarious purposes, always connected with possessions, revenge, or other feared arts. But as civilization began moving away from dependence on religion to explain all manner of circumstance, the fear of the supernatural lost a great part of its former interest.

Perhaps only in the last century has western civilization revisited the notion of mind control.

With the concept of mind control introduced as a power among heroes populating children’s books, this concept has taken on a completely new image, being a force for positive as much as destructive purposes.

It’s All In Your Head

The scientific community has been aware of the theory employed in creating binaural beats for over a century, as the central concept is quite familiar to musicians and physicists alike.

Sound is an acoustic wave that propagates through material, often the very molecules in the air, and what we perceive is a result of the fluctuating pressures in the air as these variations hit the auditory sensory mechanisms within our ears. In binaural beats, the key to predictable and repeatable results is the frequency of these waves. Musicians and physicists are quite familiar with what happens when two dissimilar frequencies interfere with one another. If the dissimilar frequencies are particularly close in value, an illusionary “beat” is perceptible, often described as one might imagine wobbling in the level of noise.

This is the same theory applied to create binaural beats, with a few notable exceptions. In this case, a beat is created by supplying two distinct tones to headphones, with a different tone in each ear. These primary and secondary frequencies create an illusionary third frequency. The tertiary frequency is an abstract concept, as matter reacts as though under the effects of this illusionary stimulus when none exists. The supplied tones create a controlled, albeit illusionary frequency that, if it had been generated in the brain, would correlate to a known thought pattern.

[Include image of wave interference to demonstrate] Although the volume of the noise is not strong enough to propagate through the brain, the neurons that make up the brain matter attempt to send signals in resonation with the three artificial frequencies. As the first and second frequencies are at levels that the brain cannot reproduce, only the illusionary frequency is effective. This frequency traverses through the cranium, and neuronal pathways activate to resonate with the frequency, eliciting the emotions and thought process said pathways would otherwise correlate. It is also important to note that these tertiary frequencies, often below 20 Hz, would damage the inner ear if supplied directly, thus necessitating the creation through illusion

[8], as noted by Dr. Weiland and Dr. Winter as they tested the applicability of these beats in a clinical setting.

Dr. Weiland and Dr. Winter also made significant discoveries with binaural beats, using them in the emergency room of St Vincent’s Hospital, Melborne, to partly replace anesthetics on surgery patients [8]. And they are not alone in examining the many uses in medicine. Dr.

Schwarz DW, from the Department of Surgery (Otolaryngology) and Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, proves the fact that neural pathway activation happens through biorhythm resonance and not acoustical interference, showing it takes a span in the order of milliseconds to reach a steady state of uniform frequency throughout the brain, as opposed to the predicted nanoseconds had this been due to acoustics [1].

Where Did That Come From

By no means is the concept of using acoustics to relieve ailments new to medical practices, though it is fair to claim it is relatively new to science. Music has been used across all cultures throughout all eras to set the appropriate mood. Hindu priests in India were the first to keep ordered records identifying the affects of different tones, using specifically tuned crystal singing bowls to correct imbalances in the various chakra, the presumed flow of life forces, within patients [2]. Even Christians were once well known for using tones from silver bells when warding off evil spirits and ridding followers of unexplainable ailments. Since the 1950’s, “mind control” has been a popular power for super heroes in comic books, children’s novels and cartoons.

But mind control isn’t a concept that can only be found in science fiction or works of fantasy anymore. Subliminal messaging has been around for decades, giving subtle cues through propaganda and advertisements to meanings not obvious or explicitly stated. Literary works such as George Orwell’s 1984 were famous for their exaggerated extrapolations of what could happen should entire civilizations fall to the control of media or government through this manipulation.

The next wave of inspiration came as a much quieter discovery through the entertainment industry, in which sequenced sounds and lights at specific frequencies were found to induce epileptic seizures in hundreds of children [3]. But in our world of modern technology, medical practices are starting to explore the benefits of using external frequency to manipulate thought patterns; both inducing desired and preventing detrimental thought patterns.

As the accidental discoveries of the entertainment industry came to light, alongside various advances in medical technology that detected specific frequency patterns in brainwaves through various phases of consciousness and thought, we suddenly considered the long-thought archaic practice of using tones to manipulate the mind as a legitimate medical possibility [4].

From EEG readings, doctors realized that certain moods and thoughts could be categorized to different ranges of brainwave frequencies [5]. It stood to reason that if frequencies are correlated with thought patterns, there was the possibility that one could control thought patterns if one could intentionally alter the frequencies within the brain. However, the use of binaural beats did not make its industrial premiere in medicine, but rather drug substitution. Following a study pioneered in 1998 by students at the psychiatric department of Duke University, who appear to have first termed the acoustical products as “binaural beats” [5], an online company named i-

Doser was formed in the early 2000’s, selling pre-made beats in “doses,” and ranging in purpose from mimicking marijuana to giving a high one could previously only get from cocaine [6]. As these digital highs gained popularity and fame, awareness of binaural beats appears to have spread much faster in the subcultures looking to alternative medicine or recreational drugs.

As binaural beats were taking their start in what many would call the counter culture to modern medicine, the counter culture’s attention predictably served to increase scientific skepticism about the concept, as practices of alternative medicine often have not withstood scientific scrutiny, and practitioners of alternative medicine often ignore practices of western medicine as a matter of principle. However, as new research continues to come to light, it is certainly surprising many in the scientific community that this rather strange practice of using sound to control a person’s thoughts does have scientific validity.

Current applications of binaural beats are both in the medical profession and the recreation enterprises of Internet surfers. Doctors at the Emergency Medicine, St Vincent's

Hospital and University of Melbourne, in Melbourne, Australia have found a 10-15 % reduction of anxiety levels in patients when exposed to the binaural beats [8]. Research by Dr. Vincent Giampapa, MD, Former President of American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine, New England

Journal of Medicine, found that levels of cortisol went down by an average of 46% and melatonin production could be increased by an average of 98% [7].

Limitations

Lay persons are also making use of the beats from home on personal computers, using various sounds reportedly as sleeping aids, provoking deeper thoughts, sometimes having spiritual purification purposes, hormone control, or simply to stimulate muscle growth after workouts.

With any new theory, there is a discrepancy between the knowledge we have, technological advances that try keep up, and any supporting knowledge needed to improve efficiency. With only two points of origin, such as headphones in each ear, to apply an illusionary frequency across a 3D structure of varying densities, our ability to accurately manipulate as much has already been achieved is quite impressive. But perhaps the bigger question should be focused on the dangers of creating a technology capable of changing a person’s thoughts to something on a computer setting. Although the public is safe from advertising companies with 30-second pitches, there is a much greater chance of noticeable effect when these tones are heard for extended periods of time, such as a political speech that lasts an hour or more.

Future Potential

However, the theory is proving to have far more validity than originally suspected, and is rapidly gaining acknowledgement and popularity among the scientific community. But this technology is far from limited exclusively to the brain. Branching off of the theory that tones can influence the mind, resonating frequencies were used all over the body for healing remedies, not just the head. It would also stand to theorize that what affects trillions of neurons would certainly affect a few, if targeted in specific portions of the body. Perhaps the next discovery will be the frequency at which nerves stimulate cellular division, causing wounds to heal, or conversely, stopping cancer in its tracks. It could be used to generate or eliminate pain sensations, correct cardio arrhythmia, or control kinesthetic motion itself where previous spinal damage may have prevented such. Neurons control the body in the same way that circuitry controls a computer. To be able to bypass the normal relays and generate the desired action creates an entirely new level of control in medical technology that has never been explored.

Conclusion

Binaural beats are a new field of research, and stem from a very old practice. But they may well be responsible for leading a new wave of medical practice. As a form of modern mind control, interest is sure to take off as awareness of the digital miracle ventures beyond the circles of specialist and small interest groups already praising its effectiveness. People must be mindful of the ethical concerns when intentionally subjecting the mind to external manipulation; however, the potential for benefit is astronomical.

Sources

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