Hearing voices in white noise Options

[m00k0w]

Every time I play noise, usually pink noise, I will hear what sounds like faint vocals behind the ripping fuzz of noise. Typically I am generating the file for system tuning, and the voices catch me off guard every time. I cannot make out any content, but there is a clear (usually) male voice, at times screams, laughs, etc. However, the vocalizations are not randomly hallucinated simply because there is noise present in the room. That is, I'm not crazy, I promise If I seek to the same spot within the file over and over, the same vocalizations (tone, pitch) repeat, especially after some sort of notable colorful deviation from a comparatively monotonous mumble. I can seek to, and repeat this especially loud vocal over and over.

Is this the brain picking what it can out of a ton of data, because some parts or patterns at certain frequencies of the sound somewhat resemble voice? I'd like to learn a bit more on this, and know if anyone else readily experiences this. If you've never noticed this, I can generate pink noise and listen myself until there are some notably loud sounds resembling a vocal, and save these parts with a description of what it sounds like is being said or hummed. As I said usually I can't pick even a single word out, although it sounds like the vocal flows and modulates like a real person speaking would. Good to try to emulate to add vocals or interesting melodies to your own sound.

This post has been edited by m00k0w: Oct 25 2012, 09:22

[senp]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomenon

"Auditory pareidolia is a situation created when the brain incorrectly interprets random patterns as being familiar patterns."

This makes sense, it would have been an evolutionary advantage to find false positives (instead of false negatives) when looking for patterns.

"For example, believing that the rustle in the grass is a dangerous predator when it is only the wind does not cost much, but believing that a dangerous predator is the wind may cost an animal its life."

This can happen in eyesight too, where the brain is always seeking patterns and often finds one where there is none really.

This post has been edited by senp: Oct 25 2012, 09:52