Sunday, August 17, 2014

ASMR in the NYT

Some years ago, I noticed that the way some people speak makes me almost impossibly sleepy.  The first time I put two and two together was when Carl Sagan's Cosmos was on TV.  I always tried to stay up to watch it, but the minute Sagan began speaking, his delivery put me right out.

About a year ago, when Netflix stopped carrying Sagan's Cosmos, I started looking for other videos or audio for relaxation.  The first thing I tried was listening to scientific lectures or documentaries.  It wasn't the same.  Sometimes it worked, but not always.  So I just searched for 'soft spoken intellectual monologues' and got a Youtube hit for something called ASMR.

 ASMR, or auto sensory meridian response, has become a small phenomenon, led, in no small part, by an 'ASMRtist' who goes by the nom de guerre, "Gentle Whispering".  I rarely remain conscious through her videos, but one I recently saw kept me up. 

The New York Times covered ASMR, and Gentle Whispering did a video about it:



I must admit that I have been hesitant to post about ASMR.  It has now hit the mainstream. That makes it ok, right?  lol.  I've watched a lot of ASMR, and only a few put me to sleep very well. Gentle Whispering is one of, if not the best, IMHO.
EDIT: If you aren't familiar with Cosmos, try this little intro: