Electronic voice phenomenon
EVP - Electronic Voice Phenomenon referred to as (EPP ) - are auditory events within acoustic recordings, which can be interpreted as spoken sentences or sentence fragments and those of some people an extraordinary importance is attached to. Under scientific test conditions so far no abnormalities could be reproduced, which went beyond the effects of technical shortcomings of the recording equipment.
So far it is not clearly defined whether the actual phenomenon in the technical-physical ( hypothesis: The presence of the EVP underlying sound is inexplicable ) or purely informal ( hypothesis: EVP represent a kind of inexplicable information feedback ) range lies.
Especially followers of esoteric currents believe that they communicate in this way with the souls of the dead or other entities. The physicist Ernst Senkowski coined for this purpose the concept of instrumental trans- communication. This constitutes nothing, as a modern, secularized form of spiritualism. Other proponents of EVP go only from a science as yet unknown process, and hope for further findings by broader methodological studies.
Critics of this point of view counter this by saying that the incidence may be exercised is currency on recordings sound in the vocal type or vocal sounds, from a technical point of view, depending on the box office on the method used (see Technique ) is with artifacts (Electromagnetic Susceptibility, bias, etc. ) explained. Simple perceptual illusions deceive addition, significantly help to interpret in indistinct acoustic voices with meaningful content or even personally -appearing reference into (similar to pareidolia ). The claim is therefore inexplicable events taken at least reckless or premature or even wrong.
In previous investigations whose results technical artefacts and perceptual illusions, it is debatable whether they have been carried out scientifically controlled; no doubt, however, is that they were not reproduced until today under scientifically controlled conditions. A previously unknown effect related to EVP thus is generally considered unproven.
Term
The term EVP comes from a time when the corresponding receptacles lack of technical alternatives were only made with tape recorders. This name was retained, although recordings, which may contain such voices are, nowadays with a variety of electronic devices (eg radio, television, computer ) and can be produced with special PC programs and recording formats such as audio tapes, music and video cassettes. The English name synonymous Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) to German electronic voice phenomenon ( ESP) is articulated.
Technology
There are several different methods that are listed in the following, the most commonly applied:
- Recording in complete silence by recording device with an attached microphone (microphone method)
- Recording of one or more foreign languages mostly broadcasts with or without microphone (radio method)
- Produced recording of a radio device that is set to a frequency without transmitter and therefore a noise ( "white noise" )
- Recording the product of a special computer program (eg EVPmaker ), the previously any audio file (*. Wav) randomly divided into small segments and reassembled has ( speech synthesis method, phoneme synthesis method)
A combination of the recording techniques is possible. All methods have in common that the evaluation and interpretation after the picture is taken, typically after repeated playing. Then, the most relevant sections picked out, which in this case is no standardized approach was known. The selection of the sections marked as relevant here, the recording is completely left to the experimenter and his abilities.
Background
The term " EVP " goes back to the Swedish painter and opera singer Friedrich Jurgenson, who with his tape recorder anfertigte recordings of bird calls in 1959 and believed after repeated listening to the tapes, in addition to the birds and to hear voices, which appealed to him personally ( " Friedrich, you are being watched " ) and saying things, of which only he could know himself. He devoted himself since this experience completely researching this phenomenon. In 1967 he published his book radio with deceased ( see Related links ) and also made so that the term "Voices from Beyond " public.
Jurgenson was his life striving to have his discovery from a scientific perspective. To this end, he held talks with broadcast engineers as well as physicists and psychologists. So did about the Parapsychological Institute of the University of Freiburg under the direction of Hans Bender in cooperation with Jurgenson in 1964 and 1970, carry out investigations, which basically confirmed the existence of the phenomenon, however, were not performed because the results achieved with the strict requirements of the methods used were not enough.
Also the Latvian writer Konstantin Raudive (1909-1974) dealt for many years with the EVP. In 1968, his book inaudible becomes audible. Raudive was like Jurgenson anxious to prove the phenomenon under scientifically controlled conditions. This he achieved with the microphone method in March 1971 through the recording of voices in a Faraday cage in the shielded laboratory of the company Belling & Lee Ltd / London. Skeptics doubt the validity of these early studies, because it is unclear whether adequate precautions were taken to avoid bias. Ernst Senkowski (Mainz), Pastor Leo Schmid ( Oeschgen / CH) and Ing Seidl (Vienna) are or were other experimenters, which dealt intensively with the phenomenon.
The Viennese physicist John Hagel ( Journal of anomalistics 1 2 / 2002 ) suggests as a result of his experiments on the issue of system- sustaining role of random processes in mechanical systems that someone who EVP einspielt, sits down with complex random processes in its immediate vicinity in connection. These random processes would cause through the process of recording the occurrence of speech-like or spoke -like, acoustic sequences whose meaning ( referencing statements ) correspond to an effect on the person install the firmware. Emphasizes hail that this phenomenology also still remains a great need for explanation, especially with regard to the mechanism of acausal correlation.
Under scientifically controlled conditions could results, which confirm the existence of EVP, yet not be reproduced.
The phenomenon in cinema
Film and television contribute to the popularization of this topic in much. Here, the phenomenon is often embellished with horror elements to provide for shock effects in the audience, but not to refer to the descriptions of the allegedly actually existing phenomenon. From Beyond originating votes are for example part in Steven Spielberg's classic horror film Poltergeist (1982). The phenomenon is also the basis of the horror thriller White Noise - Screams from Beyond (2005) and its sequel White Noise 2 - The Light (2007). In the movie The Sixth Sense EVP lead to the turning point of the plot.