From John Gordon
Your piece on babies’ sense of rhythm (31 January, p 15) made me wonder why rhythm is so attractive. Could it be connected to a fear of uncertainty?
When immersed in rhythmic music, the beat tantalises us with the illusion of near-certainty of what – in terms of sound – is about to happen in the next few moments.
For those few minutes the future holds no fear. Reacting to rhythm may be the only human activity that provides such a sense of precognition for an extended period.
Datchworth Green, Hertfordshire, UK
