The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Would you instantly recognize the sound of gunshots?

Croz · August 14, 2009, 10:56 AM

Not sure if I'd recognize it or not, since most of my experience around guns has been in a range with hearing protection on, which changes the characteristics of the sound, obviously.

Context has been discussed extensively, but I think the other piece of the puzzle is frequency. The odds of something being a gunshot are much lower, outside of a war zone, than it being anything else.

So combine context and exposure to the sound, with the unconscious understanding of the odds that it could be a gunshot, and it only makes sense that people would think it's something different.

August 14, 2009, 10:56 AM	#58
Croz Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2008 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 307	Not sure if I'd recognize it or not, since most of my experience around guns has been in a range with hearing protection on, which changes the characteristics of the sound, obviously. Context has been discussed extensively, but I think the other piece of the puzzle is frequency. The odds of something being a gunshot are much lower, outside of a war zone, than it being anything else. So combine context and exposure to the sound, with the unconscious understanding of the odds that it could be a gunshot, and it only makes sense that people would think it's something different.