Michael Jackson doesn't touch people

1993/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Giza zientziak

A cable television company in the US, using a brain wave analysis system, has measured the influence of different television programs on the public. The first results indicate that hard documentaries attract public attention. On the contrary, Michael Jackson's concerts had very little response. The system is only an electroencephalograph.

Very sensitive sensors are placed on the head of the person being studied to detect the smallest pulses of the brain. The electric pulse current is so low that it requires amplification. Amplifiers generally produce sounds by transforming the original signals. However, the amplifier used by this system is low sound and therefore the signal obtained is of high reliability.

The system designer is Masahiro Kahata and the amplified signal has been treated on a Macintosh personal computer. Through the Fourier transforms it is transformed into an image, where you can see the different frequencies that make up the signal. The image is obtained simultaneously in data collection and both valleys and summits appear perfectly on the monitor computer.

The encephalograph can represent three minutes of brain activity on each screen and also presents the activity existing in the two cerebral hemispheres, both right and left.

So, reader, Michael Jackson's concerts can't say they are sad, but they don't create special fascination either.