The Ghost in the iPod.
HOW does the iPod know how to choose tracks that segue perfectly from the previous song? It's uncanny how well the songs transition from one mood to the next sometimes. For example, I was listening to a track from Cocteau Twins' Victorialand and then came one of the ambient tracks from Radiohead's Kid A...I believe it was "Treefingers." It was really a lovely transition, which made me wonder again, as I have many times before... how does the iPod know? Is the tone of a song something that the little hard drive quantifies somehow, and knows how to connect to other songs?! It doesn't get it right all the time, but when it does, it's like I couldn't have chosen the next track better myself. I thought that was something that could only be controlled with human judgement, but apparently this little digital device is capable of accomodating the musical mood of a picky individual like myself. Bizarre.