Screeeeech!
Question: Why do sounds like scratching a blackboard and scraping metal make some people cringe or shiver? And how does the mind remember sounds? If it can remember sounds accurately why do we not cringe when we remember these sounds?
Answer: The danger warning sounds emitted by some of the great apes are of a similar frequency and tone to the sound made by fingernails dragged on a blackboard, so possibly a primal instinct for danger is being stimulated.
Howard Vogel
by e-mail, no address supplied
Answer: People do cringe at the memory of sound. Upon reading this question, my back seized up at the…
