What's the Frequency, Kenneth?: A Brief History of the Term Frequency

Likely an obscure title to those not familiar with REM's music, but I grew up in the 80s and 90s so it was the first song that popped into my head when thinking of a title for this piece.

Lead singer Michael Stipe wrote the song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" in 1986 in response to a bizarre assault on then CBS news anchor, Dan Rather, who was approached by a man shouting,"Kenneth, what is the frequency?". The man, William Tager, claimed he believed the media was beaming signals into his brain and that he was a time traveler needing the "frequency" to stop the voices, and he had mistaken Rather for someone else named Kenneth. (Source)

While I can't speak to what signals were being beamed into Tager's brain at that time, what was being broadcast out into the world was an old, but now revived term, "frequency". Though undeserving of it, the term suddenly became a metaphor for paranoia, surveillance, and mental disconnection.

The word has resurfaced recently as people search for ways to care for themselves in the midst of the chaos that we're all witnessing, and so I thought I explore the origins of the word and its present-day interpretation.

A brief history of the term "Frequency" (Source)

• 1550s: The term first appeared in English, derived from Latin frequentia, meaning "a crowded state" or "multitude".
• Mid 19th C: Frequency emerged as a "rate of recurrence," particularly in vibrations or waves. Hermann von Helmholtz, a German physicist and physician, played a significant role in popularizing this, using it to describe the physics of sound and hearing.
• 1895: Professor Silvanus P. Thompson helped standardize the term, stating that "The number of periods accomplished in a second is called the frequency or periodicity"
• 1920s–1930s: With the rise of radio electronics (e.g., FM/AM modulation in the 1920s) and electricity, "frequency" became a standard term.
• 1930: The International Electrotechnical Commission named the unit "hertz" (Hz) to represent cycles per second, honoring Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist who fundamentally proved the existence of electromagnetic waves
• 1960: The CGPM (General Conference on Weights and Measures) officially adopted the "hertz" (Hz) as the SI unit, replacing "cycles per second" (cps) and cementing the ubiquity of the term 

Today we've seen a growing interest in Hz frequencies, particularly in the context of sound healing and wellness, driven by a desire for holistic, non-invasive methods to manage stress, anxiety, and physical discomfort in a high-stimulation world. (Source)

This trend has moved into mainstream wellness, with sound therapy (a holistic treatment utilizing vibrational frequencies with tools like tuning forks, singing bowls, and the voice to create sound vibrations that connect with the body, balance chakras and reducing stress and pain. Studies show benefits like boosting mood and focus, reducing anxiety, inducing meditation, promoting relaxation, and improving sleep quality and mental well-being. (Source)

I'll be writing a follow up blog to this where I dive into why understanding your own frequency matters so much at this time and ways we can change our frequency to meet the growing demands of this over-stimulated world. Stay tuned....

Peace,

Norah