Q.E.D.

a week or so ago, I caught wind of a web site that students are apparently visiting because it can somehow make people feel like they are high or drunk. at least, that’s the way I heard it. because I’m generally hip to the doings of young folk, I figured it was just some silly site and kids who were acting disoriented or in some kind of trance were just kidding around, or susceptible to psychosomatic suggestions, or gullible, or all of the above.

today, however, two students approached me and asked if I could explain how the site works, what the science behind the procedure is, and whether it was harmful. they were asking me because they were working an assignment for the school newspaper and I am apparently a trusted scientific resource. after asking a few pertinent questions, I was able to glean from my conversation with these kids that people apparently download audio files from the web site onto ipods and similar devices, then listen to them and experience some kind of altered state. the web site charges a fee for each “dose” and markets different files as the equivalent of taking doses of various drugs, illegal and otherwise. still convinced this was a ruse designed to target high school kids who might otherwise like noise or trance music but wouldn’t consider listening to it unless someone suggested it was rebellious or dangerous or secret, I tried my best to work around the school’s internet filters (once again foiled by that matronly rufus, Bess) but could not view the site.

what I did figure out, though, is that the web site itself, I-Doser.com, claims to offer, (ahem, sell), audio files that contain binaural beats that are designed to induce trances or altered states of mind in ways that mimic specific drugs. (as much as I want to explain it in detail here, I also want you to keep reading my post, so if you’re unfamilar with acoustic beats, it would probably work out better if you read the wikipedia article about them).

so, after reading a little more, I’ve learned that there has, in fact, been research to suggest that when a person listens to two sounds producing binaural beats at particular frequencies, they can have effects on brainwave frequencies, which in layman’s terms translates into causing a state of relaxation or meditation. that makes the topic sentence of this paragraph: yes, apparently there is some scientific evidence to suggest listening to files from this site can put you in a trance. maybe. I think? I suppose that’s the idea here; however, I can’t confirm the phenomenon because I haven’t had a chance to find a file that claims to contain said binaural beats that won’t cost me $20, (I’ll settle for free, though. and I admit I haven’t really looked around. I’m sure they’re all over filesharing sites..). either way, I’d like to know if this is all in a few high school kids’ heads, or if listening to a noise track through your earbuds on the bus ride to school (when you’re still half asleep anyway) can really make you feel high by the time you get to homeroom.

on a seperate note, leave it to the internet to find yet another way to make a fortune on kids who could probably score real drugs, cheaper. or even just spin around in a circle a bunch of times instead and get the same feeling. genius. I wish I’d thought of it.