Word of the Day: Hyperhuman

Hyperhuman, adj. /ˈhaɪpərˌhjumən/

Possessing a quality of human presence or expression that has been intensified or heightened by means of technology

The Levitin Lab study of how musicians communicate emotion produced a hyperhuman performance of Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 55, No. 1 by algorithmically exaggerating the timing and dynamics of a human performance, and finding that listeners perceived this exaggerated performance – never executed by a human – as more emotional.

Listen to the hyperhuman performance of Chopin’s Op. 55, No. 1 (audio clip)

Hyperhuman?: Imogen Heap performs “Hide and Seek” with voice and vocoder

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