(I typed this yesterday)
So I'm on this bus, riding to Winnfield and as I'm listening to music it gets me thinking. Why is it that music can conjure up past experiences/feelings? For example, there is an album I listened to after my surgery that now whenever I listen to it those same unpleasant feelings come back. But they're like specific feelings, like feeling sick and sleeping. There is another song that I think I listened to while I was reading a book and now when I hear that song it makes me think of the character in that book. And then there's places. I have some music that reminds me of being in California with my brother and being in the snow and this house we stayed in. How is it that music can do this to us? Is it just connections in our brain that continually associate these feelings and thoughts? Then again how is it that music can even make us feel sad or happy? I don't know if other people have these same experiences, but why is that? Just something that's stumped me for awhile...
And also what influences peoples tastes in music like their tastes in food? Is it the generation and what they're around but then again, why do people still like oldies music not from their time?
And also what influences peoples tastes in music like their tastes in food? Is it the generation and what they're around but then again, why do people still like oldies music not from their time?
Another question came to me today:
What causes people's phobias? I, for example, think I have a legit phobia of cockroaches (ewh ewh ewh just typed that word). But how do these phobias come about? They can be so severe for some people. I think my fear is obnoxious, but I don't want to get over it because I don't want to think about them long enough to get over it.
Anyways, yeah thought I'd share my questioning.
I like these kinds of questions. They're philosophical and psychological. Wouldn't it be cool to search for a correlation between musical tastes and tastes in food? What does a Lady Gaga fan eat? I have no idea what such an inquiry could result in, but it would certainly be compelling and fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThanks for regularly contributing a variety of ideas too, Emily. I hope you feel that you're benefiting from this.
I love the music idea! Like Mr.Engholm said, I think it's awesome that you are keeping such an open mind with your ideas and are exploring a variety of areas. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteSomething you maybe could do with this music/mind connection idea is maybe form a science thesis based off of it. I'm not sure if that would work, but I know that this is something that scientists who study the brain are trying to figure out. They have programs on the Discovery Channel about how these people are trying to figure out how the brain works.
ReplyDeleteMy comments aren't as great as the previous ones but I think it is so cool that we can connect memories with music. I am a huge fan of music and my favorite songs are the ones that bring back good memories. I think this could be a fantastic focus.
ReplyDeleteEMILY! I am so glad you shared this! It is a very interesting thing that deserves a to of pursuance. You referred to so many ways that memories interact with parts of our lives (music, food, etc.). Even deja vu- how memories are stored... why some memories seem to have more importance than others? Also, in therapy pyschiatrists talk with their patients, extracting information (or memories) that may have led the patient to develop their condition or explain pent up feelings. This is interesting because it insinuates that memories are stored but we do not have easy access to them. Hm... I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteAssociations would be interesting. Perhaps you could see if there are any large associations that people feel towards objects or things in their lives. Perhaps you could see if there was a correlation between those associations and their actions. I guess I'm thinking about something like the colors red and green and how that makes people think about christmas and when combined with some sort of music it just makes people think about family and love and perhaps less guilty about buying things or eating some heavy expensive meal because it's Christmas and we shouldn't be upset around Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI really like you phobias idea. They are very interesting because a lot of them seem to come from no where.
ReplyDelete