The Incredible Ear

page 241 Internal Earphoto © 2009 Sue Clark | more info (via: Wylio)
Follow these instructions:
1. Say the word “Hello”
2. Hear yourself say the word “Hello”
3. Read the description below of what just happened inside your ear.

“The outer ear, known as the pinna, collects sound waves and directs them into the ear canal, which carries the sound waves to the eardrum. In turn, the eardrum vibrates, and these tremors are picked up by the three tiny bones in the middle ear: the malleus (resembling a club), the incus (shaped like an anvil), and the stapes (similar to a stirrup.) These bones amplify the sound vibrations and transmit them to the inner ear, where the cochlea converts the vibrations into electrical impulses, which travel from the acoustic nerve to the part of the brain that processes sound, the auditory cortex.”*

I feel awe for G-d when I encounter the vast magnificence and beauty of the world He created—the Mitzpe Ramon crater, the vulture-diving cliffs of the Golan, the fireball of Sun going to sleep behind the Mediterranean. But I could feel that same awe every time I see or feel or smell or hear anything. I should feel awe for my Creator, who created the unfathomable, intricate wonder that is the human body.

* Taken from “That Buzzing Sound” by Jerome Groopman, February 9, ’09, The New Yorker

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