# Can you pass this audio test?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-this-audio-test/640378>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 8, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-this-audio-test/640378 "2012-11-08T17:27:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-this-audio-test/640378/61 "2012-11-13T03:46:55Z")

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> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> Your #2 video is processed somehow and not just a direct copy of the BBC test pattern video, right?

Nope. It’s a direct copy. No changes made by me but the title.

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**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-this-audio-test/640378/62 "2012-11-13T03:48:51Z")

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> [@steronz](#):
>
> I’m surprised that way more people picked #5 than #1.

That is in keeping with the research I did. People tend to accept a slight delay over an anticipation because it makes more sense psychologically. Audio events never happen before visual events in real life situations.

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**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-this-audio-test/640378/63 "2012-11-13T04:24:19Z")

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> [@PandaBear77](#):
>
> I think it’s #4.

Me too. :smack: You, me, and 4 other people sucked the most at this.

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**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-this-audio-test/640378/64 "2012-11-13T06:15:32Z")

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> [@Musicat](#):
>
> They may have chosen #2, but that doesn’t mean they were accurate. If I made 5 guesses, and one of them was #2, that doesn’t mean I was perceptive, just lucky. You are assigning a value based on nothing more than random chance. You are fooling yourself.

If people chose the answers to the poll at random, then one would expect Option #2 to have 20% of the votes. It didn’t. It had 44%–more than twice the random amount.

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-this-audio-test/640378/65 "2012-11-13T13:06:52Z")

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> [@Sinisterniik](#):
>
> Some [food for thought](https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:4QJu5KAU3wgJ:https://secure.connect.pbs.org/PbsDocuments/PBS/QualityGroup/4_audio_quality.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESivhW2ADX1Q614C1BxtYHfv4HI2ozTDDSsfnDXkuxbHomvF8c17VMMypFSL0SG4FjNtc9MyDGPlHUPfgpyJBlNJUqt1Jp9Qn9Bs-M_04UGSFa-DtBAWgKsIzXyEW96ZzesUzcLe&sig=AHIEtbSftIb23i3jbtvMDnUavhOQbxWNpg) while you wait for me to post the solution.

Ever since I bought a new HDTV I haven’t been able to play Rock Band at all. I just can’t get it calibrated, and my accuracy on the drums has plummeted to the point I can hardly hit a note.

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