[Dixielandjazz] Mozart Effect - Redux

[Charles Suhor]

On Jun 4, 2005, at 9:44 PM, Steve barbone wrote:
Why should the Mozart effect have to be disproved? Seems to me it was 
never
> proved in the first place. So disproving it would be irrelevant.
>
> Remember the Mozart Effect people are saying Mozart's music alone, not 
> all
> music, is the cure for all ills, as well as the only music that makes 
> you
> smarter. Seems to me that should be hard for anyone to believe.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>


I made a lousy choice of words with "disproved," as Hal Vickery also 
pointed out. It's okay to say, though, that the effect is suspect but 
certainly not discredited. If the effect doesn't hold up with some 
statistical integrity (it doesn't have to work all of the time), it 
will fade. Hucksters are making phony claims and plenty of dough by 
making the effect a fad, and skeptics sharpen their claws on anything 
that seems to challenge reductionist science, and all of that makes it 
harder for anyone who's still trying to do genuine experimental work. I 
don't have the sources on hand, but I've heard of studies done with 
other composers--and even some studies under rigorous controls in which 
some kinds of music had a salutary effect on plant growth. There's 
nothing at stake for me in the way this turns out but I admire those 
who look at new ways of thinking about how our brains and the universe 
operate.

Charlie Suhor




> Charles Suhor at csuhor at zebra.net wrote: (polite snip)
>
>
> http://skepdic.com/mozart.html
>>
>> I read the skeptic's view and can agree that the Mozart effect isn't
>> strongly supported, but further studies could show that it does--or
>> doesn't--have merit. At this point the effect suspect, but certainly
>> not disproven.
>
> Why should the Mozart effect have to be disproved? Seems to me it was 
> never
> proved in the first place. So disproving it would be irrelevant.
>
> Remember the Mozart Effect people are saying Mozart's music alone, not 
> all
> music, is the cure for all ills, as well as the only music that makes 
> you
> smarter. Seems to me that should be hard for anyone to believe.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>