It is 35 degrees outside, and probably even more in my little south-facing studio. So it is with a overheated brain that I am reading a recent communication by Bart Lutters and Peter J. Koehler in BRAIN, titled: Brainwaves in concert: the 20th century sonification of the electroencephalogram.
Luckily it is short and sweet, and does a great job in introducing the scientific and technological discoveries responsible for the rise of EEG in sonic performances, and the seminal collaborative work by Nobel laureate Edgar Adrian and artist Alvin Lucier (see video below). It provides a birds-eye view on its history, and some great references from which to start (or continue) thinking about Brain Computer Music Interfaces (BCMIs). This publication will certainly contribute to the growing excitement about the possibilities of BCMIs, especially of neuroscientists with an artistic streak.
By the nature of the thing, the communication is short, and leaves one wanting more – especially since one imagines that the authors have much more to say. As a rhetorical device, the authors ask whether the sonification of (brain) data is a valuable (in their words: “legitimate”) scientific technique. It is an interesting question, but alas the authors can’t really dive into the topic deep enough to answer it. From the examples the authors provide, however, sonification does seem to have been important at several times during the history of biological science. However, according to the authors, the subsequent appropriation of these techniques by artists “poses a challenge to the field, as some argue for a sharper distinction between scientific and artistic sonification, whereas others proclaim openness to both sides of the science–art spectrum (Supper, 2012).”
I don’t think I fully understand the challenge that they speak of (but I’ll have to follow up on Supper, 2012), although I am very aware of the rather exotic claims and idea’s about BCIs that so easily get a hold in popular culture, alternative therapies, commerce and art. But ultimately I would side with “openness to both sides of the science–art spectrum”. As I see it, science is actually not bounded by art, as neither stops when one crosses over. One does not have to let go of science when entering art. When done properly, the scientist remains a scientist when opening their mind to the artistic free-fall. In fact, scientific exploration cannot happen without being in the dark about where your next step will land.
However, the scientist nowadays does too often over-emphasize confirmation over exploration. Perhaps this is understandable in the light of the current confirmation-crisis in psychology and neuroscience. However, we should not forget about the role of exploration in science. Last year, Prof. Matti Hamalainen gave a lecture on the topic back in Stockholm, and reminded me in the worlds of Princeton professor and maverick of statistical science, Carl Friedrich Tukey (1915-2000). I can’t find the same quote, but this one conveys the idea:
Once upon a time statisticians only explored. Then they learned to confirm exactly – to confirm a few things exactly, each under very specific circumstances. As they emphasized exact confirmation, their techniques inevitably became less flexible. The connection of the most used techniques with past insights was weakened. Anything to which a confirmatory procedure was not explicitly attached was decried as ‘mere descriptive statistics’, no matter how much we had learned from it. (1977, p vii)”
I am certainly not immune to this “scientific confirmation bias”. Perhaps it is just too easy to get jaded in one’s relationship to the unexpected: Unexpected results more often than not seem to bump down your research and even your career, at least in the short run. Luckily, thanks to art-science collaborations I am regularly reminded that scientific integrity and the freedom of exploration are not mutually exclusive. We have only to encounter seminal interdisciplinary pieces such as those by Alvin Lucier, to show us how art and science together can expand the borders of knowledge and imagination in ways they could never have done alone.
Brainwaves in concert: the 20th century sonification of the electroencephalogram, BRAIN. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/aww207
Tukey, J. W. (1977). Exploratory data analysis. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley.