The Mozart EffectSince human intelligence is a factor for survival, people have been trying to think of new and innovative ways to increase their mental abilities. In the past, people took pills, made homemade concoctions, and even shaved their heads to get a clear mind. Even today, new ideas, such as magnetic mattresses for better blood flow to the brain, are patented and sold, promising mental well-being and stability – and making money for the inventor . When scientists discover something that improves intelligence, the general public is interested. Perhaps that's why a small study from the University of California, Irvine, has gotten so much attention. In 1993, Gordon Shaw, a physicist, and Frances Rauscher, a former concert cellist and cognitive development expert, studied the effects of Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major on a few dozen students. They carried out this study to see if “brief exposure to certain music could increase cognitive abilities” (3). They studied thirty-six students and divided them into three groups. Each group spent ten minutes listening to different sounds: the first group listened to the Mozart sonata mentioned above, the second group listened to a relaxation instruction tape, and the third group sat in silence. Immediately after these ten minutes, students were tested on spatial/temporal reasoning (specifically the Stanford-Binet test). In simple terms, “the subject must imagine that a single sheet of paper has been folded several times and that different cuts are then made with scissors” (3). The objective for students is to correctly guess the pattern of the cutouts if the paper were unfolded. In the end, the scores o...... middle of paper ...... widely shared by the media and the general public. New inventions centered on Mozart's music are increasingly rare, and it's much harder to find "Mozart for the LSATs" at the average CD retailer. After spending nearly a decade in the spotlight, The Mozart Effect is starting to lose ground and will soon be replaced by a new study proving that bowling stimulates the right frontal lobe and that every parent will be happy to give candy to their children. References1) http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9908/25/mozart.iq2) http://parenting-baby.com/Parenting-Baby-Music-Research/index1.html3) http://www. musica.uci.edu/mrn/V7I1W00.html4) http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v400/n6747/full/400826a0_r.html&filetype=&dynoptions=5 ) http://skepdic.com/mozart.html6) http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-08-19-mozart_x.htm