In my last article I described the engineering processes that take place in our ears; the processes that change sound into nerve impulses. These impulses carry information to the brain. The brain translates this information into thoughts.
We give our sense of hearing most of the credit for our language based skills. Language is the foundation for thought. Communication, reading, memory, cognition, powers of reasoning, problem solving, etc. are all based on language skills.
Our thoughts form ideas and images. Some are simple, like recognizing one note from another on the piano. Others are complex, like forming the image of a beautiful sunset from the words of a creative writer.
Whether simple or complex, our thoughts are the result of a great deal of simultaneous activity within the brain. The illustrations show some of our language based functions and where they occur in the brain.
The area for Logic consults with Intuition, while Analytics argues with Creativity. Art uses Science to blend colors on a palette, and Mathematics helps balance a Musical Score. All of this is happening while Memory is working hard to find your car keys. It is precise and very quick.
We can thank our auditory system and our sense of hearing for delivering the information necessary for developing and maintaining our thought processes. It is not our hearing acuity that makes us different from other creatures. Many of them have greater acuity. It is what we do with the information that sets us apart.
Our society realizes the importance of healthy hearing to the extent that hearing testing for newborn babies is mandatory. Our sense of hearing delivers many messages, most of which go far beyond their original sound.
