From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Back in the early 70s, binaural stereo with artificial heads was
pretty fresh and exciting. Around that time, three public German
radio stations went all out to produce a binaural radio drama
called "Demolition," based on Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man."
Word is it first aired on September 3, 1973.

I can't recall every single detail now, but here are a few
highlights:

- Spoken words mostly sounded like they were outside the listener's
head, but telepathic speech came through as if inside the head.

- The story's songs were set to music ("'Tenser' said the tensor.").
I still remember the tune.

- I was pretty young then and didn't catch all parts of the story.

- Overall, it was a solid, high-quality production, often called
the "first binaural radio drama ever;" but it's easier to follow
if you already have a good grasp of German.

119 minutes long.

Directed by Ulrich Gerhardt, Klaus Kr|+ger, Hans-Ulrich Minke,
Friedrich Scholz, and Ursula Starck.

Music by Friedrich Scholz and Klaus Dieter M|nurich.

Cast includes Peter Hallwachs, Gert G|+nther Hoffmann,
Arnold Marquis, Susanne Tremper, Ingrid van Bergen,
Dieter Ranspach, Uta Hallant, Eduard Wandrey, Anneliese R||mer,
Tanja Berg, Nero Brandenburg, Josef Pelz von Felinau,
Andreas Mannkopff, Helga Krauss, Hubertus Bengsch,
Helma von Kieseritzky, Rudi Schmitt, Norbert Gescher,
Hermann Ebeling, Hans Kwiet, Erna Haffner, Reinhard Kolldehoff,
Otto Czarski, Klaus Jespen, Rosi M|+ller, Friedrich W. Bauschulte,
Fritz Mellinger, Georg Corten, Joachim Kerzel, Evamaria Miner,
Heinz Petruo, Joachim Nottke, Erika Matejka, Walter Tappe,
Eric Vaessen, Michaela Pfeiffer, Paul Paulschmidt, Burghard Klausner,
Gerd Holtenau, J|+rgen Wegner, Mei Li Pfennig, H|+lya Laumer,
Hermann Wagner, Rolf Marnitz, Gertie Honeck, and Robert Matejka.


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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Verily, in article <Demolition-20250729174504@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>,
did ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de deliver unto us this message:

Back in the early 70s, binaural stereo with artificial heads was
pretty fresh and exciting. Around that time, three public German
radio stations went all out to produce a binaural radio drama
called "Demolition," based on Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man."
Word is it first aired on September 3, 1973.

I can't recall every single detail now, but here are a few
highlights:

- Spoken words mostly sounded like they were outside the listener's
head, but telepathic speech came through as if inside the head.

That sounds like a nice feature. It's more subtle than running it
through a filter.

- The story's songs were set to music ("'Tenser' said the tensor.").
I still remember the tune.

Tension, apprehension, and dissension have begun.

I love the idea of trying to hide from telepathic police. How well do
you think "Baby Shark" would work in real life?
--
Saturday Doctor Who watch party 1:00 p.m. Pacific time

This week: Doctor Who & the Silurians [Third Doctor] https://discord.gg/k8s4V2th?event=1399108589234294914
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Melissa Hollingsworth <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote or quoted:

I love the idea of trying to hide from telepathic police. How well do
you think "Baby Shark" would work in real life?

I wish I could give a proper take, but "Baby Shark" is totally
unfamiliar ground for me! I'm kind of out of the loop and don't
know some popular stuff.

Right now I've got a box fan running, and its noise sounds like radio
voices that take over, and I'm powerless to stop myself from trying to
decode them. That alone might be enough to throw off a telepath . . .


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

In article <shark-20250730181137@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>,
Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:

Melissa Hollingsworth <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote or quoted:

I love the idea of trying to hide from telepathic police. How well do
you think "Baby Shark" would work in real life?

I wish I could give a proper take, but "Baby Shark" is totally
unfamiliar ground for me! I'm kind of out of the loop and don't
know some popular stuff.

Right now I've got a box fan running, and its noise sounds like radio
voices that take over, and I'm powerless to stop myself from trying to
decode them. That alone might be enough to throw off a telepath . . .

I believe it was an element of _The Yngling_ that the titular character's actions were unsnoopable by telepaths because he had no interior monologue.

Then there was that story about getting away with murder when chronoviewers would be used to probe every moment leading up to the crime. Not quite
the same thing, but interesting... Which leads to the Sturgeon story about
the bedridden aunt who turned around her nephew's plot to kill *her*...
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 30 Jul 2025 17:14:14 GMT, ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram)
wrote:

Melissa Hollingsworth <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote or quoted:

I love the idea of trying to hide from telepathic police. How well do
you think "Baby Shark" would work in real life?

I wish I could give a proper take, but "Baby Shark" is totally
unfamiliar ground for me! I'm kind of out of the loop and don't
know some popular stuff.

Right now I've got a box fan running, and its noise sounds like radio
voices that take over, and I'm powerless to stop myself from trying to
decode them. That alone might be enough to throw off a telepath . . .

You really think a telepath is going to be distracted by a fan?
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Stefan Ram wrote:

Melissa Hollingsworth <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote or
quoted:

I love the idea of trying to hide from telepathic police.
How well do you think "Baby Shark" would work in real life?

I wish I could give a proper take, but "Baby Shark" is
totally unfamiliar ground for me! I'm kind of out of the
loop and don't know some popular stuff.

I have grandchildren so unfortunately I am very aware of "Baby
Shark"... it's as catchy as hell but after the 273rd time of
hearing it, it becomes VERY annoying!
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote or quoted:

You really think a telepath is going to be distracted by a fan?

It's not the fan. It's the voices from the fan!

|Why You Hear Voices in Your White Noise Machine
. . .
|It's called auditory pareidolia.
(Quotation slightly edited, deleting the word "still".)

|Can we hear imaginary voices in white noise?
. . .
|Yes, white noise machines, as well as other items that
|produce constant noise ( ie bedroom fans) are known to
|cause auditory hallucinations.

|How come I hear voices or music when a fan is running?


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) wrote or quoted:

|It's called auditory pareidolia.

I tried to verify the following answer from a chatbot, but it took
too much time! At least I found out that "Details" (Short Story by
China Mi|-ville) seems to exist (was not halluzinated by the chatbot).
So without further verification attempts, here's the dialog: Me,

Science Fiction and Fantasy stories with pareidolia?

, chatbot,

|Several science fiction and fantasy stories explicitly engage
|with the phenomenon of pareidolia - the tendency to perceive
|meaningful patterns, such as faces, in random stimuli.
|
|Key examples include:
|
|- "Details" (Short Story by China Mi|-ville): This story is
| centered on pareidolia, following a girl who uncovers a
| demonic presence that only she can see. The plot revolves
| around her disappearance and her father's desperate search for
| her. The story directly engages with pareidolia by making the
| act of seeing hidden forms in the environment both a physical
| and psychological danger.
|
|- "Pareidolia" (2011 Film by Saskia Olde Wolbers): Olde
| Wolbers's film creates a science fiction-fantasy world that
| blurs the line between perception and reality, weaving
| together the theme of pareidolia with fable-like storytelling.
| The film explores how people project meaning onto ambiguous
| forms and experiences, merging aesthetic ambiguity with
| narrative structure.
|
|- "Pareidolia: Science Fiction Stories" by J.P. Osterman: This
| story collection uses pareidolia as a central theme -
| exploring how humans find order in chaos and name
| unidentifiable shapes in the universe, thus constructing
| meaning from randomness.

.


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