Kohn Ashmore’s voice is arresting. It stopped his friend Andy Mills in his tracks the first time they met. When Andy first laid eyes on Kohn, he saw a college freshman in a wheelchair who moved slow and talked slow. But it only took one conversation for Andy to realize that Kohn was also witty and observant. They clicked so effortlessly over lunch one day that Andy went ahead and asked an audacious question: why was Kohn so slow?
This turned out to be a trickier question to answer than either Andy or Kohn expected, and led to a revelation that made Andy question what it means to be truly familiar with something ... like the sound of your own voice, or that of a friend.
Neurologist Orrin Devinsky joins us to answer some questions raised by Andy and Kohn’s story, and the band Hudson Branch helps us hear, and feel, the world through Kohn’s ears.
Hudson Branch is: Matthew and Jacob Boll, Corey and Cobey Bienert, and Enoch Kim. Becky Beighley, Andy Mills, and Kohn Ashmore join them to sing an adaptation of Damien Rice's "Grey Room."
Comments [7]
I suffered a severed infection in my brain when I was two and
it took me a very long time to even speak in a way that was
understandable. To me, my voice sounds very deep and clear -
perhaps I am listening more to my own thoughts than my voice -
but others often have a very difficult time understanding me and
yes it is still a shock to hear my self on audio tape - far less
deep and far, far less than clear.
It seems my vocal chords are doing what they should but the
amount of air I push through the chords is far less than it should
be and far slower - so the sounds I make are not sharp and enunciated
but mushy and blurred...
just sent the audio to my best friend in the UK. we have known each other since birth, and are now 61 & 60 respectively. mike had an aneurism age 33 that left him with severe paralysis and speech impediment - he sounds like kohn. mike has mentioned to me before that he does not hear himself as we hear him!
rd
I wondered what would his voice recording sounded like if they sped up the tape. Could it sound normal?
There seems to be one aspect of this story that is being overlooked. The story states that Kohn was raised by deaf parents. Children learn to talk by hearing their parents' speech. Could it be that Kohn was speaking "oddly" even before he went into his coma? None of the people in the story who knew him were in his life pre-coma. Therefore, we do not know how he spoke even before the incident. Is it possible that he was speaking this way (or closely to it) since learning to talk?
Wow!... my grandson is 16 ,has cp ,and has learned to "talk" in the last 5 years,..and walk...both sketchy. We used to "sing" together to Cat Stevens. He'd be so happy just expressing himself,..and I think he thought he was saying the words too,facial expressions and all. The program gave me a lot to think ,and feel about. he's a great kid,..our gift.
I experienced something similar, although it was the opposite voice perception, in that voices, including my own, were speeded-up. I was 8 or 9 yo and had a high fever. I remember this very clearly because it freaked me out. I remember telling my father to stop talking because he was talking too fast. I didn't understand why. The look on his face ("wow, he's really sick") was scarier than the actual perception. Nothing else was speeded-up, just voices. This lasted until my fever subsided.
I realized, later on, that time was a relative thing. It really has more to do with our perception. I'm sure he was paraphrasing someone else (Einstein?) but I remember Woody Allen saying that time was to keep everything from happening at once.
I have a had a severe hearing loss for most of my life, so I'm acutely aware of anomalies in sounds, voices, music because my perception of them is generally different from normal hearing people. Hearing Kohn's slowed-down voice gave me anxiety as it reminded me of my incident with speeded-up voices.
I found the story about Kohn Ashmore very touching. The description of Kohn hearing his recorded voice reminded me of an epiphany when one realizes that reality does not measure up to one's image of one self. Kohn must be a courageous man, to use his voice in a song. He seems to have gone from feeling sad about his voice, to embracing it's unique quality.
I feel great respect for "Hudson Branch". They recognized an opportunity to create unique artwork, inspired by a unique individual.
Radiolab is wonderful.
William
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.