Page 206 - Engineering in Nature

Engineering in Nature

in. Therefore, no matter how noisy is the outside, the inside of the
brain is completely silent. Nevertheless, the sharpest sounds are per-
ceived in the brain. In your completely silent brain, you listen to sym-
phonies, and hear all of the noises in a crowded place. However, were
the sound level in your brain measured by a precise device at that mo-
ment, complete silence would be found to be prevailing there.
As is the case with imagery, decades of effort have been spent in
trying to generate and reproduce sound that is faithful to the original.
The results of these efforts are sound recorders, high-fidelity systems,
and systems for sensing sound. Despite all of this technology and the
thousands of engineers and experts who have been working on this
endeavor, no sound has yet been obtained that has the same sharpness
and clarity as the sound perceived by the ear. Think of the highest-
quality hi-fi systems produced by the largest company in the music in-
dustry. Even in these devices, when sound is recorded some of it is
lost; or when you turn on a hi-fi you always hear a hissing sound be-
fore the music starts. However, the sounds that are the products of the
human body's technology are extremely sharp and clear. A human ear
never perceives a sound accompanied by a hissing sound or with at-
mospherics as does a hi-fi; rather, it perceives sound exactly as it is,
sharp and clear. This is the way it has been since the creation of man.
So far, no man-made visual or recording apparatus has been as
sensitive and successful in perceiving sensory data as are the eye and
the ear. However, as far as seeing and hearing are concerned, a far
greater truth lies beyond all this.

To Whom Does the Consciousness that Sees and
Hears within the Brain Belong?
Who watches an alluring world in the brain, listens to symphonies
and the twittering of birds, and smells the rose?

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