Good Vibrations: The Science and Psychology of Sound

Welcome to Deep Dives and Drafts! If you're new, please check out our group page to learn more about us here.

From invisible vibrations shaping matter, to the songs of whales and the playlists that give you chills, sound is more than just something we hear. It’s a physical force, a biological trigger, and a powerful tool for communication, emotion, and control.

Themes we might explore:

• Sound 101: The basics of sound physics—frequency, resonance, why we hear what we hear (and sometimes feel what we don’t). Infra- and ultrasounds, cymatics, etc.
• The Acoustic World: How animals (and plants?) use sound. Echolocation, mating calls, soundscapes of nature, acoustic ecology, bio-acoustics, etc.
• Sound in the Brain: How sound becomes emotion—memory, dopamine, ASMR vs. misophonia, how the brain perceives sound and why music is so powerful.
• Designing with Sound: Sound engineers and architects, LRADs, cinematic sound.

Suggested resources to spark conversation:
(feel free to message me with additional suggestions!)

Books

• Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks (TY Kim!)
• A Book of Noises: Notes on the Auraculous by Caspar Henderson
• The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants by Karen Bakker
• This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin
• The Sound Book: The Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World by Trevor Cox

Podcasts

• Twenty Thousand Hertz (all of the episodes are about sound)
• Misophonology with Dr. Jane Gregory — Ologies with Alie Ward
• Acoustic Ecology (NATURE RECORDINGS) with Eddie Game — Ologies with Alie Ward
• Episode 53: Sound and Music — The Science of Everything Podcast

Movies & Documentaries

• Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
• Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough
• Music Medicine: Sound At A Cellular Level |TED Talk
• The Art of Sound: Episode 1 – Sound is Fundamental (Docuseries)
• Sound of Metal (Feature Film)

How does this group work?
Each month we will select a topic to explore. Participants use the list of books, podcasts, documentaries to learn about the topic prior to the MeetUp- this resource list is non-exhaustive but provides a solid foundation for discourse. At the MeetUp, we chat for an hour or two about anything we learned. Our aim is to foster intellectual engagement, thoughtful dialogue, and collective learning.
Meetups will be in public spaces (bars) where folks can order beverages if they wish.