Disclaimer: this post may stray from our usual topics of conversation, but the topic of a “speech jammer” was just too good to not share.
New gadgets get invented every day, but ones that make you go “whoa” don’t come around that often. Well, get ready for a giant dose of whoa. According to Daily Mail, Japanese researchers have invented the first ever human mute button. Dubbed the “Speech Jammer,” the device forces individuals into “vocal submission,” essentially shutting them up at will.
With a zap from the Speech Jammer, scientists say, a speaking person will go quiet almost instantly. This is caused by having their speech instantaneously fired back at them. Although our brain likes to hear what comes out of our mouth when speaking, it doesn’t like to hear it twice. The technique, known as “Delayed Auditory Feedback,” stresses humans into silence by freezing their brains when they hear an echo of their voice. And don’t worry, no Men in Black stuff going on here, just harmless science.
It may not be a time machine or that awesome Back to the Future hoverboard (although that may be coming in 2015), but it certainly feels futuristic to me. I’m sure at this point you’re all imagining who you could use this on, but before you get carried away, there is no mention of when such a device will be made for public consumption. Obnoxiously-loud-Bluetooth-man in the elevator/grocery store/bank/bus/wherever you gather–we will get you.
Learn how to mute people at dailymail.co.uk.
