Cochlears, Music, and Critical Thinking

Imagine what it'd be like to lose your hearing. The first thing is how it affects your ability to communicate with family, friends, and people at work. Less obvious is what does to enjoyment of your music. Your favourite band or composer now sound like an over-amplified shoe box. People with cochlear enjoy the great benefit of having their basic hearing restored, but music no longer sounds the same. We play some sample audio of how the world sounds with a cochlear implant. We talk to Professor Kate Gfeller about her work to bring enjoyment of music to people with hearing loss. Then we talk critical thinking in an age of free information. Why are we so prone to swallowing the bunk that floods the internet? Dr Merryn McKinnon from the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science shares her thoughts on this question. Interviews by Rod. Links Audio sample from http://wlmager.com/what-does-a-cochlear-implant-sound-like Fuzzy Logic recommends Better Hearing Australia http://canberra.betterhearingaustralia.org.au/ The 'unsold cars' story (warning: this is nonsense)  http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-16/where-worlds-unsold-cars-go-die