Selective power of human ear studied

People at noisy parties are often able to catch the sound of their own names or mention of a topic that interests them from across a room in the midst of conversational din. In the world of science, this is known as the “cocktail party effect.” At Stanford Research Institute, a psychologist interested in this strange phenomenon has completed exploratory research making use of it in a way that could drastically affect communications systems. Dr. Maurice Rappaport believes that the ability to “zero in” on a key phrase or conversation amid the tinkle of glasses and laughter is possibly the stereo effect given by two ears and the human brain´s capability for selectively listening to one of several simultaneous messages.