A phenomenon I discovered here and found more info about here. Lemme copypaste a post I made earlier:
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When signals of two different frequencies are presented, one to each ear, the brain detects phase differences between these signals. "Under natural circumstances a detected phase difference would provide directional information. The brain processes this anomalous information differently when these phase differences are heard with stereo headphones or speakers. A perceptual integration of the two signals takes place, producing the sensation of a third "beat" frequency. The difference between the signals waxes and wanes as the two different input frequencies mesh in and out of phase. As a result of these constantly increasing and decreasing differences, an amplitude-modulated standing wave -the binaural beat- is heard.
The brain interacts with sound waves in a peculiar way - the neurons fire at the exact frequencies you hear. Meaning that if you were listening to a song and someone stuck an electrode in your brain in the right place and hooked it up to a speaker, they'd hear the song coming out through the speaker.
Each hemisphere of the brain has its own hearing processor section, and the two compare notes, so to speak, to interpret the auditory input and figure out where in the outside world the sound is coming from. When they get two slightly different signals, the binaural beat is heard as the two hearing sections vibrate in sync with their respective signals.
It's possible to tune the beats to match the frequencies of certain brainwaves, strengthening them. If a brainwave is strong enough, it imparts a physical effect on the body, such as sleep or pleasure. Not everyone is susceptible to them.
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What do you guys think? Maybe we could have a binaural beat collab and send people on murderous rampages.
