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How do our brains process speech? - Gareth Gaskell

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TEDEd Animation

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The average 20-year-old knows between 27,000 and 52,000 different words. Spoken out loud, most of these words last less than a second. With every word, the brain has a quick decision to make: which of those thousands of options matches the signal? And about 98% of the time, the brain chooses the correct word. How is this possible? Gareth Gaskell digs into the complexities of speech comprehension.

On average, how often do adults learn a new word?

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Gareth Gaskell
  • Director Skirmanta Jakaitė
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Skirmanta Jakaitė
  • Animator Skirmanta Jakaitė
  • Art Director Skirmanta Jakaitė
  • Music Stephen LaRosa
  • Sound Designer Stephen LaRosa
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Elizabeth Cox
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma

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