Is That a Fish in Your Ear?
Is That a Fish in Your Ear?

Author: David Bellos

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2011-10-11

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0865478724

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A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year People speak different languages, and always have. The Ancient Greeks took no notice of anything unless it was said in Greek; the Romans made everyone speak Latin; and in India, people learned their neighbors' languages—as did many ordinary Europeans in times past (Christopher Columbus knew Italian, Portuguese, and Castilian Spanish as well as the classical languages). But today, we all use translation to cope with the diversity of languages. Without translation there would be no world news, not much of a reading list in any subject at college, no repair manuals for cars or planes; we wouldn't even be able to put together flat-pack furniture. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? ranges across the whole of human experience, from foreign films to philosophy, to show why translation is at the heart of what we do and who we are. Among many other things, David Bellos asks: What's the difference between translating unprepared natural speech and translating Madame Bovary? How do you translate a joke? What's the difference between a native tongue and a learned one? Can you translate between any pair of languages, or only between some? What really goes on when world leaders speak at the UN? Can machines ever replace human translators, and if not, why? But the biggest question Bellos asks is this: How do we ever really know that we've understood what anybody else says—in our own language or in another? Surprising, witty, and written with great joie de vivre, this book is all about how we comprehend other people and shows us how, ultimately, translation is another name for the human condition.

Sound
Sound

Author: Michel Chion

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2015-12-17

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 082237482X

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First published in French in 1998, revised in 2010, and appearing here in English for the first time, Michel Chion's Sound addresses the philosophical, interpretive, and practical questions that inform our encounters with sound. Chion considers how cultural institutions privilege some sounds above others and how spurious distinctions between noise and sound guide the ways we hear and value certain sounds. He critiques the tenacious tendency to understand sounds in relation to their sources and advocates "acousmatic" listening—listening without visual access to a sound’s cause—to disentangle ourselves from auditory habits and prejudices. Yet sound can no more be reduced to mere perceptual phenomena than encapsulated in the sciences of acoustics and physiology. As Chion reminds us and explores in depth, a wide range of linguistic, sensory, cultural, institutional, and media- and technologically-specific factors interact with and shape sonic experiences. Interrogating these interactions, Chion stimulates us to think about how we might open our ears to new sounds, become more nuanced and informed listeners, and more fully understand the links between how we hear and what we do.

Auriculotherapy
Auriculotherapy

Author: Raphael Nogier

Publisher: Thieme

Published: 2011-01-01

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 3131495316

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The continuation of Paul Nogier's findings Auriculotherapy is based on proven correspondences between locations on the external ear and the internal organs and systems of the body. The ear acts like an input/output terminal in direct contact with the central nervous system. Information on viscerosomatic states can be accessed via visual clues, skin electro-conductivity, and pressure sensitivity at specific points. The first part of Raphael Nogier's Auriculotherapy shows how acupuncture needles are used in sophisticated and powerful therapeutic interventions. The second part introduces the principles and practice of auriculomedicine, a true frequency medicine that evolved from Dr. Paul Nogier's auriculotherapy, his discovery of the VAS (Vascular Autonomic Signal) in the pulse and his consequent observations of the diagnostic and therapeutic properties of radiant light frequencies on the skin. The material presented here builds on and updates the work of the author's father, Dr. Paul Nogier, who scientifically explored and charted the auricular microsystems in the 1950s. A serviceable, contemporary work for students of acupuncture as well as practitioners, offering clear and practical information to be applied directly for the benefit of patients.

Volume Control
Volume Control

Author: David Owen

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2019-10-29

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0525534245

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The surprising science of hearing and the remarkable technologies that can help us hear better Our sense of hearing makes it easy to connect with the world and the people around us. The human system for processing sound is a biological marvel, an intricate assembly of delicate membranes, bones, receptor cells, and neurons. Yet many people take their ears for granted, abusing them with loud restaurants, rock concerts, and Q-tips. And then, eventually, most of us start to go deaf. Millions of Americans suffer from hearing loss. Faced with the cost and stigma of hearing aids, the natural human tendency is to do nothing and hope for the best, usually while pretending that nothing is wrong. In Volume Control, David Owen argues this inaction comes with a huge social cost. He demystifies the science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have. Hearing aids are rapidly improving and becoming more versatile. Inexpensive high-tech substitutes are increasingly available, making it possible for more of us to boost our weakening ears without bankrupting ourselves. Relatively soon, physicians may be able to reverse losses that have always been considered irreversible. Even the insistent buzz of tinnitus may soon yield to relatively simple treatments and techniques. With wit and clarity, Owen explores the incredible possibilities of technologically assisted hearing. And he proves that ears, whether they're working or not, are endlessly interesting.