In this link you will find this topic: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7279626/Audiences-hate-modern-classical-music-because-their-brains-cannot-cope.html Audiences hate modern classical music because their brains cannot cope Modern classical music is so widely disliked by audiences because the human brain struggles to find patterns it needs to understand the compositions as music. For decades critics of modern classical music have been derided as philistines for failing to grasp the subtleties of the chaotic sounding compositions, but there may now be an explanation for why many audiences find them so difficult to listen to. A new book on how the human brain interprets music has revealed that listeners rely upon finding patterns within the sounds they receive in order to make sense of it and interpret it as a musical composition. While traditional classical music follows strict patterns and formula that allow the brain to make sense of the sound, modern symphonies by composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern simply confuse listeners' brains. Philip Ball, author of The Music Instinct, has drawn on the latest scientific findings from neuroscientists to show structure and patterns in music are a fundamental part of musical enjoyment. He said: "Many people still seem to find modern classical music challenging. If that is the case, then they can relax as it is challenging for a good reason and it is not because they are in some way too musically stupid to appreciate it. "The brain is a pattern seeking organ, so it looks for patterns in music to make sense of what we hear. The music of Bach, for example, embodies a lot of the pattern forming process. Some of the things that were done by those composers such as Schoenberg undermined this cognitive aid for making music easier to understand and follow. Schoenberg's music became fragmented which makes it harder for the brain to find structure. "That isn't to say, of course,

In this link you will find the article: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/10-year-old-wins-award-for-poetry-written-by-blinks-1.1041851 ADAM BOJELIAN: Told the award ceremony of his love of writing. Brian Donnelly 17 Jul 2010 A blind boy who suffers from major health problems has won an award for his poetry, which he writes by a process of blinking to choose words and syllables. Judges, however, were unaware of the incredible feat by Adam Bojelian, aged 10, until he reached the semi-finals of the competition. He is given options of up to 100 words at a time by a helper to allow him to choose which word he wants to use, and has developed a love for creating imaginative verse. Adam, who has severe cerebral palsy and is a pupil at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, was given one of the first Brit Writers? Awards at a ceremony in London. His mother Zoe Picton, 50 ? a lawyer who, when not looking after Adam, is studying for a PhD ? said he was overwhelmed by the visit to the O2 Arena. She explained how she first confirmed he was ?communicating by blinking when he was about a year old. She said: ?At playgroup we noticed he was blinking at the right moment when everyone else was singing, ?If you?re happy and you know it clap your hands,? then he was doing it with other songs at specific moments. Eventually he helped us develop the system.? Adam?s poems had reached the semi-finals of the Brit Writers? Awards before the incredible effort that he has to make in order to create them became known. It can take him a day to write just one line of a poem, and a month or more to finish a complete verse. But he can be quicker when ?talking?. ?He has developed it so that sometimes he can be blinking whole sentences and you have to tell him to slow down so you can understand,? his mother explained. Adam, who has spent a total of six years in various hospitals, was given the award in recognition of his outstanding achievement in poetr