Aaj English TV

Tuesday, October 01, 2024  
26 Rabi ul Awal 1446  

A much needed invention for Pakistani talk shows

Japanese scientists have unknowingly come to Pakistani viewers' and listeners' rescue by inventing a new device that silences "loud" people or mutes people who talk incessantly.

Called the SpeechJammer, this device is a prototype based on a psychological phenomena which says; that it is virtually impossible to speak when your own words are being played back to you with a delay of a fraction of a second.

A researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Kazutaka Kurihara and Koji Tsukada, a professor at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo have devised this invention together and claim that it is surprisingly very simple.

The device functions by recording the person's voice and playing it back in their direction with a delay of a few milliseconds. The device is handheld and can be aimed at a person.

The inventors of the device explain why they thought inventing such a device was can prove important in things like teaching manner and etiquette to much bigger achievements like  saving the world.

They said it could be used to maintain silence in public libraries and to "facilitate discussion" in group meetings.

"We have to establish and obey rules for proper turn-taking when speaking," they said. "There are still many cases in which the negative aspects of speech become a barrier to the peaceful resolution of conflicts."

It is unfortunate that this product is not yet commercially available because Pakistani talk show hosts, guests and the ordinary people who watch and listen to them, could have benefited from it a great deal.