Through time technology has changed exponentially with visually and auditory changes. The way movies are shown and the way music sounds heavily in contrast to how they did before. While most of society has come to accept and enjoy these new advancements of sound in our new world,  Kruskowksi has found some cons with the way sound is presented today. The ideas that Kruskowksi discusses in the episode talking about how the technological advancements of sound have replaced the intimate familiarities of different sounds for performance value. Damon does an excellent job emphasizing the reciprocity of digital and traditional sounds. This can be heard in episode 2 of The Ways of Hearing podcast. Damon states “But does all of that voice make it through that transmission not just the part with the words but the part that came before that. The part that expresses more than we can say because if it doesn’t are we really saying all that we mean”.Damon suggests that the way digital sound is produced today snatches the meaning of how we say things. It’s as if talking through a  modern sound system lacks the emotion of what we’re trying to say. Nowadays technological innovation ranks higher than anything else.

2. Jennifer Allen speaks about a good feeling that comes about at certain times. At first, she didn’t know what to call it but in time she made a name for it. Allen called it A.S.M.R, Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. This sensation gained lots of popularity over time and many people have made Youtube videos on it. I find it interesting how a certain sound can make a human physically feel a certain way. It’s fascinating how in this era we have discovered a way to give people a euphoric feeling just by making certain noises. The capability of easing people’s stress levels will be very helpful in society.

According to the introduction of the book “Seeing through Race” by John Berger, writes about how the media uses images where it shows how blacks are being victimized for whites to feel sympathy for them. However, sometimes the media is not telling the real story or portraying it differently. I agree with Berger, the media is used to bring sympathy to whites which can also lead to a movement. For example in George Floyd, we all knew that he died because a police officer was putting force on him causing him not to breathe and when this video was posted, it went viral and people started to protest to get rights.

1. The main difference between a microphone and a mobile phone is that the microphone gives artists more control over the sound they are trying to convey. They can change the cue tone and proximity to control how the microphone picks up, giving them complete control over the microphone when recording music. The phone distorts the sound too much, leading to less control over what is said, which is crucial for artists. Telephones are also unreliable because they pick up too much sound in the environment. Because voice is digitized and universal, mobile phones cannot achieve the same sound quality as microphones. Differences matter because they convey different emotions and have less control over the user. Krukowski says that the “musical” quality of sound is the aspect of sound that we consider non-musical. Pauses and emotions are essential when trying to communicate them to others on the other end. Technological advances have also changed the way we communicate music when we talk or communicate. Krukowski comments on how the shift of voice from analog to digital transmission affects how we listen, both from other people and how we speak to our community. With the development of technology, we have conveyed our message faster and farther, but the message’s emotion has disappeared. Because of the loss of feeling, connecting with others has become a difficult task.
2. In this brief history of ASMR, I have always been fond of ASMR. The most exciting thing is that sound can stimulate our brain in different ways, which can reduce pressure and relax me, which is also what many people hope.

The things that seem interested to me is singers can use their voice to make same sound in different ways for listeners. Which makes us interested to it and want to listen to it again. As the people use space between them and microphone they are using. The way we manipulate our voice and hear differently for everyone. Based on tech as it develops and our voice changes.

What do you think about the ideas Krukowski lays out in this episode? Does he adequately describe the intimacies afforded by sound and the tradeoff digital sound presents? In your answer, please incorporate at least one quotation from the episode.  

Digital sounds and analog sounds differ from each other because the way we process the quality of both sounds can be experienced in different ways. As Krukowski explains analog sounds are heard as they are originally generated,this gives us a true representation of sound. As opposed to digital sounds that have no proximity so we don’t experience the full range of the sounds. However digital sounds are vital to our everyday life because it helps keep people connected enabling us to be able to communicate more than ever no matter the distance. Different sounds also help us generate different memories. Krukowski says  “Melody is a part of the way we learn language”  I do agree  because before we even learn how to speak we learn to process different moods through sounds and music can be a great way to express love and happiness. Music is an essential part of life and its dynamic can transcend different cultures.I believe music is also a universal language because no matter what part of the world you live in music brings people closer together creating a social closeness.  

The New York Times article “How A.S.M.R. Became a Sensation” presents something like the opposite situation by providing an example of how digital tools are being used to circulate the intimate experience certain everyday and passing sounds induce. What do you see as the most interesting or important point about sound in this short history of A.S.M.R.?

The most interesting thing about A.S.M.R to me is how it can trigger the sensations by literally tingling your brain and causing that euphoric feeling. I’ve always liked A.S.M.R although I didn’t know what to call it like many others.Growing up I liked the sound of keyboards and the clicks at the end made me feel that tingly feeling on my spine. The sound of water soothes me and helps me meditate.Calming Sounds in different patterns help stimulate the nerves in your body and release oxytocin to your brain. I believe A.S.M.R is important and it can help reduce things like stress, depression and anxiety. This is something many people can benefit from.I know that most can agree how soothing euphoric and meditating the experience can be.  

I agree with Damon Krukowski about how digital microphone does not provide as much proximity as analog microphone, however I believe that does not mean we don’t experience intimacy over the phone. Krukowski points out that “the sound of our voices on the phone has gotten worse with the switch to digital… no matter how close we hold them to our mouth, there is no proximity effect on the cellphone, everyone sound just as near or just as far as everyone else.” He explains that the voice we hear over the phone only delivers words, not much of the surroundings and therefore it loses intimacy. However, I believe that we can still experience intimacy through the tone of the voice. Even over the digital phone, we can tell wether the person we are talking to is happy, sad, concerned, and etc. In addition digital microphones enables us to connect to people all over the country, such as our family members. When we live in the distance a simple phone call means a lot to us because we get to easily have a contact with them and maintain great relationship.

What I thought was most interesting is that not all the sounds are pleasing to everyone, and we all have different preferences. Some people like the sound of nails tapping the table, some people dislike them, and other people has never felt ASMR. It is interesting to think about what might cause those preferences and wether it is related to their past experience, or maybe it is just the way their brain functions and contains the sound differently.

1. In the “Love” episode of Ways of Seeing, Krukowski lays out the argument that digital sound does not provide the same full presentation of the human voice as analog microphones. He mentions the idea that there is a certain intimacy that you can only have with analog and that, “The sound of our voice has gotten worse as we have switched to digital.” While I do agree with this idea to a certain extent, I believe there is a different type of intimacy that can be found through digital microphones. With analog phones, you are very aware you are on the phone. You often had to keep the landline to your ear to hear what the other person was saying. On digital phones, you can put your device on speakerphone, close your eyes, and imagine that the person is just right next to you. While the quality might not be as good, you still can have an intimate conversation while feeling like the person is not a million miles away. 
2. In the New York Times article “How A.S.M.R. Became a Sensation”, I found the idea that A.S.M.R. belongs “to a general complex of safety, caring, connectedness and trust” the most interesting. When A.S.M.R. became quite popular, I never understood the concept. I found some of the sounds satisfying, but I never went out of my way to search for videos. The idea that people are so drawn to A.S.M.R. because some of the sounds are ways that adults soothe infants is a fascinating take from a psychological standpoint. It is interesting to note that this is a way of comfort for people and a possible fill for intimacy that they lack in their everyday lives. 

1. The podcast “Ways of hearing – Love” by Damon Krukowski talks about how the type of microphones that we use affects the way the other person hears you and receives the feeling or emotion. According to Krukowski “the sound of our voices on the phone has gotten worse with the switch to digital.. cell phones don’t transmit the full range of sound picked up by their mics.” I agree and disagree with this, our cell phone does make our voices sound differently through it however if we are paying close attention to the person on the other side we can still receive their feelings even through the phone. There are even times that I and my friends are on the phone not even talking to each other and doing other things but the thought that they are there can make us feel their presence. I don’t remember how house phones sounded but I do agree that with mics used to sing used to be way better back then, it was a different vibe.
   2. ASMR is very relaxing to hear, even more relaxing with headphones on. ASMR is used to improve mood and even pain symptoms through various common triggers such as whispering or crisp sounds. For example, I sometimes use it when I have anxiety, I put my headphones on and watch a 10-minute video on YouTube of ASMR clips. Many people enjoy watching these types of videos and we all can see that by searching on YouTube ASMR and we see that those types of videos have millions of views.

The podcast “Ways of hearing #2 – SPACE” by Krukowski refers to how he grew up in the city with sounds and noises of sirens, the wind, and trains; however it all seems to have changed due to technology. Krukowski claims that “with all these headphones is like we are avoiding ear contact”. I agree with Krukowski, before when there was less technology in the streets people had no option but pay attention to their surroundings and was stuck with the noise that the city brings however now if we go on a train we see more than 80% of the people on a phone, with headphones/AirPods on or on a kindle and the other 15% is probably with someone else such as a friend or family member having a conversation. We can all agree that we have been guilty of this when we get on a train we don’t want to hear the loud noise that the train makes, little kids crying, people talking over each other so we put our headphones on and it is like if we are in our universe. We try to avoid strangers talking to us or people asking for money and when we have our headphones on people understand that we are trying to not be disturbed.

I think I can relate a lot with Damon Krukkowsi’s idea about how we are privatizing the public. When I used to get on the train everyday to go to school or go to shopping, most people are staring at their phone and either listening to music, watching a video, or reading a news. I often noticed that since people are not aware of their surroundings, they don’t realize when an elderly or pregnant people get on the train and therefore they don’t give up their seat to the people who need it. I myself often wear earbuds too on the train even when I am not listening to anything because sometimes when you are not doing anything some random people starts talking to me and often times they ask for money and things so I get a little scared, so I try to pretend like I am busy looking at my phone and cannot hear anything. I also feel like not many people are talking to each other so even when I am on the train or bus with my family or friends, we just keep quiet often times and just stare at our phones until we get off.