Psychology
Auditory Scene Analysis
Quick fact
The brain can distinguish and track a conversation even when the speaker's voice is lower in volume than the surrounding noise, using subtle cues like pitch and timing to lock onto the target stream.
Why this is interesting
You're at a party, chatting with a friend amidst the clatter of glasses and overlapping conversations. Somehow, you can follow their words while ignoring the rest. How does your brain separate a single voice from the cacophony?