Hearing is believing

My wife took her car to the auto-shop today. The mechanic asked her what seemed to be the trouble with the car and she explained that she thought that one of the cylinders was not working. "Maybe a faulty spark plug," she said. "You'll have to start the engine," he replied, "I have to see" and he pointed to his ear. She started the engine and he immediately -- and I mean, immediately!-- noticed that there was a problem with at least one cylinder.

She thought for a moment that this was a precipitated gesture but later he repeated: "I can hear through the exhaust tube if the cylinders are all working properly.”

Hearing is believing.

Not long ago I read that new technicians at the French Citröen factory are trained to distinguish a “vocabulary” of over 20 sounds that identify multiple engine malfunctions. 

Feeling alive

A friend told me an interesting story about a relative who was in the intensive care unit of a local hospital. He remained connected to all sorts of noisy medical equipment. According to his testimony the different noises of that equipment helped him feel that he was alive, as each specific noise corresponded to a certain organ that was functioning properly. Listening to the noises thus meant that the flame was still on.