drumFunny – percussive comedy & music humor

This article comes from Discover Magazine and was highlighted as one of their top 100 stories in 2008. A team of Swedish investigators tested the relationship between a person’s intelligence and their ability to keep a steady beat. A sample of 30 men listened to the “steady clonk” from a sampled cowbell and then played back the beat on a drum pad. Subjects attempted to replicate beats at seven different tempos. Scientists then compared the results with participants’ IQs. The results showed those with the highest IQs kept the closest beat.

The scientific explanation:

“The neural mechanisms that control the accuracy and stability of the subjects’ tapping operate below the level of conscious attention, the researchers claim, and reflect the precision of neural firing itself. Millisecond variations in neural activity are known to affect learning and information processing, so it makes sense that those with the best timing are also the brightest, the researchers say. Their brain networks probably have less “noise.” In areas of the brain previously linked to IQ, the star percussionists also had more white matter—the fatty material that sheathes connections between neurons and boosts signal speed—indicating a larger amount of neural hookups there.”

A video response from drumFunny contributor Egor bolsters the scientists’ conclusions. Asked to comment on the link between intelligence and tempo control, Egor responded ”Rah ruh ra ra fers da boom ra fri flo,” and later went on to add, “da ra roo so tra skawr iz da fer ruh.” 

See below for Egor’s full response and personal demonstration along with the original article.

original article

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