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Surprising Science —

Why Your Ability to Combine Sights & Sounds Matters

Scientists have found a fascinating pattern: children better at combining sights and sounds tend to score higher on intelligence tests. Ability to compute conflicting information is key.
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What’s the Latest Development?

Learning how the brain mingles its senses can do more than shed light on the latest glitch in streaming video. It may also be able to help some people rewire their sense of reality for their own good. When scientists compared children of the same age, they discovered a fascinating pattern: The ones best at combining sights and sounds scored higher on intelligence tests.

What’s the Big Idea?

It’s possible, some scientists suggest, that helping children combine their senses through training exercises will enable them to do better in school. Our brains are accustomed to balancing sight and sound but some do it better than others and the integration comes with an astonishing ability to be duped. However, learning how to manipulate our senses could provide practical help to people who have lost a limb. 

Photo credit: shutterstock.com
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