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A comment on AI headphones let you listen to a single person in crowd, by looking at them. Parent comment

Re:AI headphones let you listen to a single person in crowd,... by dingnuts on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @10:53AM (#40512599)
yes, really any soft surfaces will damp[0] (not "dampen") sound, but the techniques and materials can get very advanced (and expensive, and effective)

0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping

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Re:AI headphones let you listen to a single person in crowd,... by oaktowner on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @11:26AM (#40512988)
Whoa! Thanks for the clarification. As a word aficionado, I did not realize the correct form of this one.
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Re:AI headphones let you listen to a single person in crowd,... by 93po on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @01:10PM (#40514324)
as a fellow pedant, i also really appreciated this clarification. i love it when i learn i've been saying something wrong!
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Re:AI headphones let you listen to a single person in crowd,... by oldkinglog on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @11:52AM (#40513278)
Why can't "dampen" be applied to oscillators? It means "To lessen; to dull; to make less intense" in this case.
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Re:AI headphones let you listen to a single person in crowd,... by 93po on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @01:15PM (#40514400)
i think the point is that it's one of those words misused so widely that dictionaries updated the definition to include the incorrect use.

dampen means to make something wet, or at least originally that's what it meant

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Re:AI headphones let you listen to a single person in crowd,... by zerd on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @02:05PM (#40514894)
According to https://www.etymonline.com/word/dampen it's meant "to dull or deaden, make weak" from 1630s and "to moisten, make humid" from 1827.
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