Why We Recoil at Unpleasant Sounds, or FARS against Mahmoud the Mad

Usually loyal to the hilt, this time FARS dared to put up an article with a well hidden, almost subliminal, but still detectable, criticism of the fearless leader.

In a study published today in the Journal of Neuroscience and funded by the Wellcome Trust, Newcastle University scientists reveal the interaction between the region of the brain that processes sound, the auditory cortex, and the amygdala, which is active in the processing of negative emotions when we hear unpleasant sounds.

And more:

Rating 74 sounds, people found the most unpleasant noises to be:

• Knife on a bottle
• Fork on a glass
• Chalk on a blackboard
• Ruler on a bottle
• Nails on a blackboard
• Female scream
• Anglegrinder
• Brakes on a cycle squealing
• Baby crying
• Electric drill

But to anyone not deaf, it's clear what (or, rather, whom) FARS were aiming at: