Focalism or anchoring
A friend of yours is raving about this new “neurovestibular system” that he has spent a small fortune on which he is convinced is helping him to lose weight and get fit. He says: it is based on “real science” and helps you make more hormones that decrease your appetite. The world-renowned doctor who invented it has tried it on himself and has had amazing results, not only losing body fat but building lean muscle mass, and thousands of people have bought one from his web-siteand have experienced similar results. He’s been using it for three months and believes that it’s working, although he acknowledges he hasn’t lost much weight according to his scales. He reckons that’s because he’s built muscle and lost fat. But you’re not so sure, because there doesn’t appear to be any observable change, so you look a little deeper. You go to the website and find that there is no clear scientific argument to support the claims, and in the fine print the doctor who invented it says his results were obtained “when combined with an active and healthy lifestyle” and “should not be viewed as typical”, and that the results of others were “self-reported”.
Cognitive bias refers to the systematic deviation of rationality or norm in judgement. The subject of cognitive bias is one that is often studied as a part of behavioural learning and psychology (Cristea et al., 2015). In the mentioned case study there are three cognitive biases that can be detected in the person who is using the neuro-vestibular system to enhance physical fitness and which he believes will do wonders for his physical health.
- Focalism
The first cognitive bias that can be detected in the mentioned case study is Focalism or anchoring. As stated by Eickhoff (2018), socalism is a cognitive bias that entails relying a bit too much on one particular piece of information or trait when making a particular decision about something. In the case study mentioned, the person utilizing the neuro-vestibular system is hoping that the product will generate good results for him by solely relying on the information contained in the website of the product, where it is stated that the product has been invented by a world renowned doctor, that it has worked on thousands of people who have used it and that although there is no proper scientific research to back the doctors claims, if combined with a healthy lifestyle, the product is certain to do good for whoever uses it. So the individual using the product has not cross checked with any second or third source to determine whether this can actually work. He is only relying on the information given the product website.
- Bandwagon Effect
Bandwagon effect
The second cognitive bias that is clearly evident in the case study mentioned above is the Bandwagon effect. According to Schmitt-Beck (2015), this is a bias that implies that people tend to believe or do things just because other people are also doing the same thing. It is a bias that is very strongly related to herd behaviour and group thinking. By using the neuro-vestibular system just because the website of the product says that it has worked on the thousands of people who have used it, implies that the person using it is hoping that the product will do well for him just because so many other people have also used it and it has worked well enough for them (Wiers et al., 2013).
- Anthropocentric Thinking
The third and final cognitive bias which can be seen in the case study mentioned above is anthropocentric thinking. As argued by Arenson and Coley (2018), this refers to the act of making use of a human analogy in order to reason about biological phenomena that is not very familiar. The person making use of the neuro-vestibular system is using the information that the product has worked well enough on other humans who have used it to justify the fact that it is going to work well for him as well.
The Solfeggio frequencies of 396 HZ, 417 HZ, 528 HZ, 639 HZ, 741 HZ and 852 HZ are regarded as those that are known to have healing capacities. 396 HZ can be used for liberating fear and guilt and for transforming grief into sheer joy (“Attuned Vibrations | Boost Your Mind, Spirit, And Body With Healing Frequencies”, 2018). 417 HZ can facilitate change and undo situations (Ivonin et al., 2013). 528 HZ can repair DNA and bring about transformations or miracles. 639 HZ can help people to connect on a spiritual level with one another and 741 HZ for solving, cleaning and expressing solutions. 852 HZ is entirely spiritual in its impact and helps people to return to a spiritual way of life readily and quickly (Muehsam & Ventura, 2014).
The above mentioned frequencies were discovered scientifically by Dr. Joseph Puleo who found repetitions of single subjects or single issues in the Book of Numbers. The Pythagorean method of bringing about a reduction in numbers was used by him to hit upon the pattern of the six repeating codes contained in the Book of Numbers, specifically in verses 12 to 83. He then went on to engage in extensive research with the well known sound therapist David Hulse and other renowned professional scientific researchers to carry out experiments that proved that these frequencies have healing capacities. The 528 HZ frequency in particular is something that is believed to be capable of carrying out the task of DNA repair quite successfully. This is something that Dr. Leonard Horowitz firmly believed and it is something that he himself learnt from Lee Lorenzen. Lee Lorenzen found out about the ability of 528 HZ frequency to repair DNA cells when carrying out research activities on clustered water (McKusik, 2014).
Anthropocentric thinking
The numbers three, six and nine are the fundamental and root vibrations as far as the Solfeggio frequencies are concerned (“Attuned Vibrations | Boost Your Mind, Spirit, And Body With Healing Frequencies”, 2018). The well-known electro-magnetic scientist Nikola Tesla believed that by knowing about these frequencies it would be easy to know how the entire universe operates as a whole (Korelo et al., 2016). Albert Einstein stated that a lot of mistakes have been made where matter is concerned. It is energy that has been regarded as matter and its vibration has been lowered significantly to make it perceptible to human and animal senses. In reality though there is no such thing as matter. The beings that are comprised of matter are known to vibrate at very specific rates and are also known to be in tune with their very own melodies (Einstein et al., 2015). Science today is now able to recognize the music in atomic nuclear energy and in the galaxy as a whole, something that was seldom known before (Jung et al., 2016).
To understand how 432 HZ is a frequency that is capable of healing it is first imperative to know all about 8 HZ. Also known as the Schumann resonance, 8 HZ is often referred to as the earth’s heartbeat and it was first officially recorded in the year 1952. The Schuman resonance refers to an electromagnetic resonance that takes place on a global scale, and which has its origins in lightning discharges but within the cavity that exists between the ionosphere and the earth. (“Attuned Vibrations | Boost Your Mind, Spirit, And Body With Healing Frequencies”, 2018). This cavity in turn resonates with the electromagnetic frequencies and at very low frequencies. 432 HZ is known to resonate with 8 HZ frequency on a musical scale, something that has been scientifically agreed upon by physicists Felix Savart and Joseph Saveur. The music of 432 HZ is believed to be something that is naturally healing when made to resonate in the human body. It expands consciousness and releases all types of emotional blockages. It also allows those who hear such music to connect to the universe in a way that is far more intuitive than usual. Here, what must be noted is that while the connection between 8 HZ and 432 HZ has been proven or established in a scientific way, the fact that it can actually be therapeutic in nature and help a person to relax has no scientific basis. There is hardly any scientific literature to demonstrate that this may very well be the case. 432 HZ is a frequency that is very widely used for its supposed healing abilities but there is little or no scientific claim to back this up.
Thus, while the Solfeggio frequencies are those that have a scientific basis, when it comes to the healing powers of 432 HZ it is difficult to be convinced. It is clear about the connection that exists between 8 HZ and 432 HZ as this is something that has been proven well enough by physicists. However that the frequency can scientifically impact healing in the human body remains to be proven. It cannot be held that 432 HZ has scientific healing potential unless more extensive research is carried out on this particular subject matter.
References
Einstein, A., Buchwald, D. K., & Illy, J. (2015). The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 14 (English): The Berlin Years: Writings & Correspondence, April 1923–May 1925 (English Translation Supplement) (Vol. 14). Princeton University Press
Attuned Vibrations | Boost Your Mind, Spirit, And Body With Healing Frequencies. (2018). Retrieved from https://attunedvibrations.com/
Ivonin, L., Chang, H. M., Chen, W., & Rauterberg, M. (2013). Unconscious emotions: quantifying and logging something we are not aware of. Personal and ubiquitous computing, 17(4), 663-673.
McKusick, E. D. (2014). Tuning the human biofield: Healing with vibrational sound therapy. Simon and Schuster.
Jung, K., Covington, S., Sen, C. K., Januszyk, M., Kirsner, R. S., Gurtner, G. C., & Shah, N. H. (2016). Rapid identification of slow healing wounds. Wound Repair and Regeneration, 24(1), 181-188
Korelo, R. I., Kryczyk, M., Garcia, C., Naliwaiko, K., & Fernandes, L. C. (2016). Wound healing treatment by high frequency ultrasound, microcurrent, and combined therapy modifies the immune response in rats. Brazilian journal of physical therapy, 20(2), 133-141.
Muehsam, D., & Ventura, C. (2014). Life rhythm as a symphony of oscillatory patterns: electromagnetic energy and sound vibration modulates gene expression for biological signaling and healing. Global advances in Health and Medicine, 3(2), 40-55.