Stop irritating chatter with speech-jamming gun

The best talkers are people who keep it short with something interesting to say. It is forgivable for someone to go on at great lengths if the content is captivating. But the worst talkers are those who drone on and on concerning the most boring, mundane topics.

As adults, we all have to put up with a certain amount of polite listening, even though we would really like to run out of the room screaming from boredom. You could probably get away with that in your personal life (although you might not have any friends left afterwards), but work related meetings are particularly querulous, where you have to listen to endless reports, where nothing is decided, and where all you want to do is get out of there, or at least take a nap.

Good news! There is a way to shut people up harmlessly and with the simple aim and fire technique of a gun.

It took the brilliance of two research scientists with PhDs in Information Science and Technology to come up with the SpeechJammer. Although still much in the process of being researched, this handy item succeeds in shutting people up! Kazutaka Kurihara of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and Koji Tsukada of Ochanomizu Women’s University in Tokyo created this new device.

You only need to aim a laser beam at the mouth of the speaker and then shoot!

Imagine being able to use this. You could aim it at that person in the library who insists on yammering into a cell phone with no regard to the surrounding people trying to get in some quiet reading time. Or even better, the person at the work meeting who has gone way over his allotted speaking time. You could disrupt their speaking bringing peace and quiet back into your life.

So how is this possible? Professor Kurihara explains that it is based on the principle that when we talk, we listen to ourselves in order to confirm that we are speaking correctly. If the sound from our voices reaches our ears within 100 milliseconds, then our brains can confirm that we are saying what we wish to say. But if you delay that time the brain thinks that you aren’t speaking correctly so it has to stop and adjust itself in order to speak correctly. The SpeechJammer artificially sets up the situation by delaying the time that it takes for the speakers words to get to his brain, shutting him up.

Professor Kurihara further explains that to cause the delay, the gun uses a directional speaker, directional microphone, and a distance sensor. The speaker and microphone are able to control the reach of sound in a very confined space. What amazing technology.

Professor Kurihara suggests using the SpeechJammer technology on people who can’t follow the rules of normal conversation.

The ability to speak is a resource we all have. We share the same space to get our ideas across through speech. If two or more people talk at once then crosstalk occurs and it is difficult to understand what is going on. Also there are people who may raise their voice before someone cuts in on them, using their power of speech to obstruct other people’s right to talk.

Professor Kurihara expanded further. “Sadly this is seen often among politicians. The 21st century is already known as the century for dialogue. Dialogue is the most adequate means to settle disputes. If the set rules for dialogue can be followed then a peaceful solution to a problem is possible. It would be good to see SpeechJammer used to help instigate the rules of peaceful dialogue.“

Who would have known there was such a noble philosophy behind the SpeechJammer gun! Actually Professor Kurihara has been carrying out research in the area of how to conduct impartial and fulfilling discussion and the SpeechJammer was developed as part of that research. Way to think outside of the box.

What does the future hold for SpeechJammer? Will we ever be able to take one in our hands, point it to someone who just won’t shut up, and fire away? Don’t you simply cringe at the possible misconduct in the use of this device?

Professor Kurihara assures us that SpeechJammer is still very much in the stages of early research. “The effect seems to vary among people and it might not work so well with people who get used to it. There needs to be a constant dependable effect, then we can start thinking of the implications.”

The response to SpeechJammer continues to pour in particularly from the video on YouTube. There is much to be discussed in the way of whether regulating speech in this way is in the best interests of human kind.

Finally Professor Kurihara reiterates that he hopes the SpeechJammer can be used for "peace around the world."

Maybe it is important to remember that using our voices to discuss problems and create awareness is something that we can do only if we also listen to one another.

Source: Excite Bit News

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