The Myth Of The Incredible Antique Violin
Antonio Stradivari Wikimedia Commons Even non-musicians might be familiar with the tale of the Stradivariuses, stringed instruments built in the 17th and 18th centuries renowned for their gorgeous tones, supposedly unparalleled, even by today's finest craftsmen. But is that just a romantic, apocryphal idea? The answer is: yes, probably. Over at Live Science, there's a good rundown on how the myth was recently tested. In 2010, researchers pitted the antiques against modern instruments, but the methodology of the experiment was disputed. (It was done in a hotel room. Critics argued a concert hall was the only reasonable venue.) In a more recent study, the same team again had a group of 10 soloists play a set of instruments; modified welders glasses kept the musicians ostensibly blind, and adding wear to the new instruments made them physically indistinguishable from the antiques. The musicians each played 12...