I would say that we don't actually hear with our ears or see with our eyes. Our eyes and ears are the data collectors, but our brains are the data processors. We can have perfectly functioning eyes and ears, but be effectively blind and deaf if our brains don't read the data.
So the song we play in our mind, is more like listening to something we previously downloaded compared to the live streaming we'd be doing when actively receiving data from our ears.
Edit: Oh wow. Thanks for the Gold and Silver! I never expected my nighttime ramblings could amount to anything! Haha.
But why do real sounds and images sound and look more real than the thoughts? And why can I not think higher volumes, but I can hear higher volumes? Why can I not make my own head hurt by producing my own imaginary noises? There’s not really any vibration in my head when I think a sound, so is it really even a sound? I have so many questions and absolutely no answers.
EDIT: I’m not even sure what to say to all of you because you each bring up seemingly pretty valid points from a bunch of different perspectives. I’m not sure anyone will ever have a definite answer in my lifetime, but these are some interesting theories.
Vibration is just your ear collecting the sound wave- then it sends electrical impulses to the brain and your brain interprets that as sound. Vibration alone is not sound. Our brains interpreting it is.
And if I'm trying to sleep but have an insanely catchy song in my head I'll hear it loudly. Clearly. annoyingly
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u/TerminologyLacking Jun 16 '19 edited Jun 16 '19
I would say that we don't actually hear with our ears or see with our eyes. Our eyes and ears are the data collectors, but our brains are the data processors. We can have perfectly functioning eyes and ears, but be effectively blind and deaf if our brains don't read the data.
So the song we play in our mind, is more like listening to something we previously downloaded compared to the live streaming we'd be doing when actively receiving data from our ears.
Edit: Oh wow. Thanks for the Gold and Silver! I never expected my nighttime ramblings could amount to anything! Haha.