<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/dn13355-music-special-five-great-auditory-illusions-.html" target="_blank" title="dn13355-1_250.jpg"><img src="http://strangeattractor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/dn13355-1_250.jpg" alt="dn13355-1_250.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="8" vspace="8" /></a>
As part of a music special, New Scientist has a great selection of <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/dn13355-music-special-five-great-auditory-illusions-.html" target="_blank">audio illusions</a> on its web site, including Diana Deutsch's <a href="http://philomel.com/phantom_words/wav/Track_06.wav" target="_blank">phantom words</a> as featured in Joe Banks' Rorschach Audio piece in the first volume of SAJ.

Pictured here is the scale illusion:

<em> Another effect first demonstrated by <a href="http://deutsch.ucsd.edu/" target="ns">Diana Deutsch</a>, this is an example of our brains "grouping" similar notes together. Two major scales are played: one ascending, one descending. However, the notes alternate from ear to ear – for instance, the right ear hears the first note of one scale, and then the second note of the other.</em>

Pop over to <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/dn13355-music-special-five-great-auditory-illusions-.html" target="_blank">New Scientist</a> for more.
via <a href="http://dailygrail.net">Daily Grail</a>