Scientists Create Gun That Physically Stops You From Talking

[lacktheknack]

They actually made a gun that can kill freedom of speech. I see no way this can be missused in the wrong hands. Nope, nothing comes to mind, not a single thing.

Actually, it just makes you talk like a deaf person. If you want to say what you're going to say, then you're going to SAY it, dammit, even though it'll sound a bit wrong.

To test this, say something and record it on the computer. Then play it back while saying it again. Feels awkward, doesn't it? But you still managed to say it. This does the same thing, except it heightens the "awkward" and second-guessing as much as possible. But if you don't mind sounding a bit like Helen Keller, then there's nothing the gun can do to stop you.

Besides, if they're going to flagrantly silence people with no concern for rights, they could use... I don't know... A REAL GUN.

 

[Jabberwock King]

I think I know where they got this idea. The guy who pitched it must've been using a headset for XboxLive/PSN/Ventrillo/etc. and someone else's mic was too close to the earpiece and it made an utterly annoying feedback loop. Happens to me on Xbox Live often enough, damn do I know how irritating that is.

 

[zerobudgetgamer]

and here I though it would use noise cancellation

hit their voice with the opposite soundwave and it cancels it out, while they can still talk, the sound won't make it to you, or it'll be significantly reduced

I was hoping for the same. When I clicked the link, I was thinking: Good god, we're one step closer to the world of Batman Beyond. But nope, no noise cancellation, so I'm sad.

 

[spuddyt]

Or you could try transcranial magnetic stimulation and physically shut down the speech centres of someone's brain. But you know, your terrible idea is great too japan.

 

[Jumpingbean3]

Well, time to start taking bets on which political party will be the first to get a hold of this.

 

[hermes]

It doesn't physically stop you from speaking, just makes you stop listening to the sound of your own voice. You can still be as annoying as anyone speaking while using headphones...

If it relies on a mental glitch then chances are that at some point people are going to be able to overcome it and render this thing even more useless.

That is true. Simply screaming "lalalalalalalalalalalalala" will make you annoying enough that the other person will be forced to stop pointing a gun at you.

 

[Auirc]

All I have to say is:

LOL, Japan.

 

[snagli]

Punching someone in the throat works pretty well too, but I guess if you want to be all sciency about it...

 

[Techno Squidgy]

This device has some serious potential for abuse. It probably started out as a neat little idea that some researcher had and thought it'd be cool to look into, but I bet some political group somewhere is already looking into this as a method of holding back their opponents.

Also, the title is misleading! When it said physically I assumed it meant you physically couldn't speak, like your tongue or jaw froze up or something. This just works on a strange mental quirk. I know how it works, as does anyone who's tried to test a microphone on steam, ventrillo or teamspeak.

 

[Smertnik]

Aww, so it's not actually a mind controlling ray gun? *disappoint*

 

[saikotriller]

I feel like using this on someone is the conversational equivalent of whacking the dog on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper.
"Well, I think that..." /soundjammed
"NO! NO! Bad speaker!"
"But I just...:" /soundjammed
"I said NO! Don't make me send you out back 'til you learn your lesson!"

 

[swolf]

Because sometimes saying shut up isn't enough and plan B can lead to charges of assault.

I totally agree! The only questions now are "Where can I get one and how much does it cost?". Oh, and there is also the question of making this omnidirectional instead of just a cone or would that require multiple jammers? You know, for those times when you don't want ANYONE to talk to you (i.e. trying to concentrate on work or gaming, when you are hungover, etc).
Edit: I wonder about the reactions (or lack thereof) from young children or animals?

Punching someone in the throat works pretty well too, but I guess if you want to be all sciency about it...

There's a plan B for those who are stubborn enough to talk despite the effect of this gadget being used on them.

 

[zehydra]

" It may not seem like much, but it's enough to jumble up even the stoutest of would-be Ciceros."

Not poor Ciceroooooo!

 

[Chrinik]

This CAN work, I´f you´ve ever been on a Teamspeak session with some guy echoing your words back at you by not using PTT when using speakers, this can really disrupt your speech, and make you fail to think about what you were trying to say in the first place...it´s annoying as hell, and when someone does that to shut you up, it can and WILL work.

 

[Alphalpha]

*golf clap*
Nice to see we have a brain trust going on in the exact opposite direction here. You guys should take some time and think about the consequences of using such violence on someone who is just overusing their yap.
See you after 25 years to life.

The point is that if you're willing to buy a gun of any variety to stifle someone's speech you've already committed to physical coercion. I don't see that one method is appreciably more acceptable than the other.

Regardless of whether those you quoted all share this perspective, I doubt any of them would brandish guns in conversation, so you needn't gloat at their inevitable incarceration.

 

[Iron Lightning]

I'll just cover my ears and keep talking. Problem solved.

 

[Enslave_All_Elves]

I hate devices like this. Scientists need to work on shit that is actually beneficial to mankind. This will either be a novelty or refined into a crowd control device.

 

[EHKOS]

I honestly thought it would be more of a type of gun that shoots specific waves at the vocal cords making them unable to vibrate.

 

[DracoSuave]

and here I though it would use noise cancellation

hit their voice with the opposite soundwave and it cancels it out, while they can still talk, the sound won't make it to you, or it'll be significantly reduced

The problem is that in order to do that, it has to detect the sound and then create the destructive interference.

Sounds good, until you realize that in order to do that, the sound wave has to have already hit the device. That makes cancellation much more difficult.

On top of this, destructive interference doesn't work unless the waves are perfectly synced--which varies from point to point. If you're out of phase, you could end up with constructive interferance for certain tones instead, and because the 'silence zone' is based on points between the speaker and the silencer, and the frequency of the waves, it's simply not possible nor reliable as an all-round silencing mechanism.

This, however, works by confusing the speaker's vocal center of his brain, which isn't reliant on distance or location.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Was there not someone who invented a noise jammer that blocked sound by shooting the reversed sound back at the source?