Today many different press reports say, one way or another: “A U.S. study found physicians who listen to Mozart while doing colonoscopies increase their detection rates of precancerous polyps, researchers say.”
That particular quote is from UPI, whose story carries the headline
That UPI story can, equally well, support the headline
BACKGROUND: Here’s some history about the Mozart Effect, in a 2010 report Alix Spiegel did for NPR:
The newest issue of the journal Intelligence has the largest review ever of research on the so-called Mozart Effect, the popular idea that listening to classical music can enhance the intelligence of people in general and babies in particular.
The review is titled “Mozart Effect, Schmozart Effect,” which should give you some idea of its conclusion: there ain’t no such thing. But even if listening to Beethoven won’t make us smarter, the history of how the Mozart Effect ultimately became fashionable does have something to teach us. It’s a story about careful science, less careful journalism, and of course, death threats….