Juan Felipe Beltran has an idea worth sharing. Passionate about debate, music and computer science, the NYUAD junior from Colombia has become fascinated by musical rhythm analysis and the lessons we can learn from the everyday beat. Beltran presented his ideas — his passions, research and conclusions — to a captivated crowd at TEDxNYU in the Grand Hall of the Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life on Saturday May 4.

His talk, titled “Measuring Musical Rhythm Similarity - the Mathematics Behind Taste,” stems from a paper he co-wrote with a group of NYUAD students and Research Professor of Computer Science Godfried Toussaint last fall, which he presented at the 2013 International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods, in Barcelona last February. Their work combines computer science, mathematics, split brain research and musical analysis to approach answering the question, “How does the human brain react to different musical rhythms?”

The answer, according to Beltran, is surprising. “When we look at different representations of music we can see that two beats can seem very similar and people will think that they’re very different; or the converse, that there are two beats that are very different that people will feel are very similar,” he explained.

Beltran and his co-authors developed a way to mathematically measure rhythmic patterns through cyclical sets. Corresponding to different rhythmical patterns, these sets were compared for their relative similarities, and measured against human responses.

As it turns out, the human brain gravitates towards similar rhythmic patterns, yet we invent other justifications for our tastes, Beltran explained. “And so that brings on a really important question: how much can we trust our idea of taste?”

His research finds that hear play into our subconscious preferences, yet we are quick to make up answers.

“Our brain likes keeping the status quo, our brain likes telling us that we know what’s going on. So when something odd happens, we come up with a rationalization very easily,” he said. “In the same way, when we explain why we like a certain song or why we like a certain piece of art, to what degree are we just making an excuse for the fact that our brain likes it?”

Beltran hopes that his TEDx audience will walk away with two new ideas. First, that they might see rhythm, and rhythmic patterns in a new or different way. Second, that they might question the tastes that they have, even if they seem rational.

For Beltran, whose passions include playing the guitar, debate and stand-up comedy, his research has has been both intellectually and intrinsically satisfying. “I have always really loved music, so when I heard that I could do music within my field, you didn’t have to say anything else. I was sold.”

Now, presenting his ideas to a larger audience has been a gratifying experience, one which he hopes will continue despite the often introverted nature of his discipline.

“When you go into computer science you don’t always have [the chance to speak publicly about your ideas], so it’s definitely something I will be pushing for.”

Harmonizing his different passions together in his research on stage, Beltran seems to have found his beat.