Comments on: Waves of Evidence: God, Like You’ve Never Seen Before http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/ Sound in Bangkok Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:03:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ben Tausig http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8883 Ben Tausig Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:57:57 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8883 Hey Rob, In saying that visualization is the standard best mode for reading data, I'm simply referring to graphic abstraction. Charts, graphs, and statistics are, in essence, reductions of events (which we always experience through multiple senses) into static pictures that we can study. Of course, it's been wisely pointed out that we can also reduce events through auditory representations, and that we can know the world at a remove through sound just as well as we can through image. But that was the basic idea. In the meantime, I can't thank you enough for the references, which I'm excited to check out. Hey Rob,

In saying that visualization is the standard best mode for reading data, I'm simply referring to graphic abstraction. Charts, graphs, and statistics are, in essence, reductions of events (which we always experience through multiple senses) into static pictures that we can study. Of course, it's been wisely pointed out that we can also reduce events through auditory representations, and that we can know the world at a remove through sound just as well as we can through image. But that was the basic idea.

In the meantime, I can't thank you enough for the references, which I'm excited to check out.

]]> By: rob mullender http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8864 rob mullender Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:11:20 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8864 the great guy sherwin put it best - 'the only true relationship between the auditory and the visual is time'. but you're on the right track here regarding inferred truth (although i would disagree that visualization is the standard best mode for reading data - what kind?). the interesting question to ask about inter-medial art (and particularly sonification) is why people believe that it does what it does; that's where 'truth' is to be found. the relationship inheres in the technology, and the sedimented and complex set of assumptions about sound, vision and the body (and often commerce) that each technological object, be it software or machine, represents. that levin paper is a gem. the first two chapters of James Lastra's 'sound technology and the american cinema' really nails the historical context for this stuff as well IMO. i can also recommend - Hertz P (1999) Synaesthetic Art: An Imaginary Number? Leonardo, 32(5) pp. 399-404. Michigan: MIT Press - and Andrey Smirnov's research into the Russian work into this stuff in the 1920's and '30's is an essential contribution. the great guy sherwin put it best – 'the only true relationship between the auditory and the visual is time'. but you're on the right track here regarding inferred truth (although i would disagree that visualization is the standard best mode for reading data – what kind?).
the interesting question to ask about inter-medial art (and particularly sonification) is why people believe that it does what it does; that's where 'truth' is to be found. the relationship inheres in the technology, and the sedimented and complex set of assumptions about sound, vision and the body (and often commerce) that each technological object, be it software or machine, represents.
that levin paper is a gem. the first two chapters of James Lastra's 'sound technology and the american cinema' really nails the historical context for this stuff as well IMO. i can also recommend – Hertz P (1999) Synaesthetic Art: An Imaginary Number? Leonardo, 32(5) pp. 399-404. Michigan: MIT Press – and Andrey Smirnov's research into the Russian work into this stuff in the 1920's and '30's is an essential contribution.

]]> By: Jack http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8687 Jack Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:53:46 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8687 I recently watched a documentary about an only-just-avoided nuclear apocalypse in 1983. One of the people featured was a top East German agent who was embedded at the highest levels in NATO, and used the opportunity to photograph secret documents which were then translated into sound bursts for transmission. Here's the film, the whole thing is well worth a watch: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpxbpeuSQyA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpxbpeuSQyA</a> I recently watched a documentary about an only-just-avoided nuclear apocalypse in 1983. One of the people featured was a top East German agent who was embedded at the highest levels in NATO, and used the opportunity to photograph secret documents which were then translated into sound bursts for transmission. Here's the film, the whole thing is well worth a watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpxbpeuSQyA

]]> By: Ben Tausig http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8623 Ben Tausig Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:27:02 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8623 Andrew: Thanks for the reference. d/ling now. Andrew: Thanks for the reference. d/ling now.

]]> By: araffodewar http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8616 araffodewar Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:01:34 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8616 I would recommend checking out the following article on Rudolph Pfenninger's 1930s experiments in hand-drawn sound, which is germane to this topic as a historical precursor: “Tones from out of Nowhere”: Rudolph Pfenninger and the Archaeology of Synthetic Sound Thomas Y. Levin Grey Room 12, Summer 2003 pp.32-79. I would recommend checking out the following article on Rudolph Pfenninger's 1930s experiments in hand-drawn sound, which is germane to this topic as a historical precursor:

“Tones from out of Nowhere”: Rudolph Pfenninger and the Archaeology of Synthetic Sound
Thomas Y. Levin
Grey Room 12, Summer 2003 pp.32-79.

]]> By: Ben Tausig http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8541 Ben Tausig Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:57:32 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8541 Thanks, Neal. Was it Photosounder you were using? Thanks, Neal. Was it Photosounder you were using?

]]> By: Ben Tausig http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8540 Ben Tausig Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:56:47 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8540 That's a great point, and I agree someone must have thought of it. If anyone has examples, please do share. Otherwise, I guess Nick has dibs on a very commissionable piece. That's a great point, and I agree someone must have thought of it. If anyone has examples, please do share. Otherwise, I guess Nick has dibs on a very commissionable piece.

]]> By: Nick http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8539 Nick Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:52:06 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8539 This must have been done by someone somewhere already, but wouldn’t this be a fun way of "reading" graphical scores? (or regular old scores, for that matter...) This must have been done by someone somewhere already, but wouldn’t this be a fun way of "reading" graphical scores? (or regular old scores, for that matter…)

]]> By: Neal Matherne http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8535 Neal Matherne Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:52:53 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8535 Ben - very good. I used to work with this software quite a bit as an undergrad studying composition. I recently listened back to some of the sounds I rendered in those days (without the graphics that generated them). Ben, great observations! Ben – very good. I used to work with this software quite a bit as an undergrad studying composition. I recently listened back to some of the sounds I rendered in those days (without the graphics that generated them). Ben, great observations!

]]> By: Tweets that mention Waves of Evidence: God, Like You’ve Never Seen Before | THIS IS WEIRD VIBRATIONS // the politics of sound -- Topsy.com http://www.weirdvibrations.com/2010/01/05/waves-of-evidence-god-like-youve-never-seen-before/comment-page-1/#comment-8534 Tweets that mention Waves of Evidence: God, Like You’ve Never Seen Before | THIS IS WEIRD VIBRATIONS // the politics of sound -- Topsy.com Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:42:57 +0000 http://www.weirdvibrations.com/?p=892#comment-8534 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by melissa, Ben Tausig. Ben Tausig said: Weird Vibrations: Waves of Evidence: God, Like You've Never Seen Before http://bit.ly/8vABfB [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by melissa, Ben Tausig. Ben Tausig said: Weird Vibrations: Waves of Evidence: God, Like You've Never Seen Before http://bit.ly/8vABfB [...]

]]>