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> People crave silence Not really. Just an escape from noise. > unnerved by it ... when it seems unusual, or unnatural. In the woods you don't expect the dee
by Isamu 8y ago
> People crave silence
Not really. Just an escape from noise.
> unnerved by it
... when it seems unusual, or unnatural.
In the woods you don't expect the deer to be shouting on their cellphones.
A heavy, windless snowfall is as quiet as the world gets. Nobody finds that particularly unnerving.
- amelius 8y agoI've been told that within an anechoic chamber [1], it's so quiet that people start to hear their own blood circulation, which can be pretty unnerving. > Cut off from the daily noises that usually drown out our body functions, it becomes possible to hear the grind of bones as your joints move, the ringing of tinnitus can become deafening. [1] http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170526-inside-the-quietest-place-on-earth http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170526-inside-the-quietest...
- nkrisc 8y agoYes, but that's not natural silence. That's to say, you'll likely not find an environment like that in the wild here on Earth. So it's not surprising that environment might be unnerving while naturally occurring silence is not.
- justinator 8y agoCaves.
- nkrisc 8y agoYes, I thought of this. However: humans spend a proportionally tiny amount of time deep in caves as a species and while some caves might have properties similar to an anechoic chamber, I would guess not to the degree an engineered chamber does.
- justinator 8y agoWell to be perfectly honest, most humans spend a proportionally tiny amount in an engineered chamber as well. I find myself in a cave... I dunno: weekly? That is, in part, because I live near many of them, and I'm very curious.
- nkrisc 8y agoYes, most people spend little time in anechoic chambers. That's my point. That's why the silence in there is unsurprisingly unnerving and unusual to humans. If you're in a cave weekly then you are in a very, very tiny minority of people. That's pretty cool though.
- pitaj 8y agoCaves are certainly not anechoic chambers. Anechoic chambers are called that because they have no internal reflection (no echos, an-echoic). Caves may be highly insulated from the rest of the world, but their rock walls are highly reflective. An anechoic chambers sounds weird because there is practically no natural analogue.
- ancientworldnow 8y agoAs a caver, they're not as quiet as you think. Most caves are filled with the sounds of dripping water, running water, and blowing wind. While you might not be immediately next to one of those sources, they echo quiet a bit. Granted it's still quieter than most environments, but feels less so than things like a heavy snowfall.
- yial 8y agoDid you ever feel the need to get your rabies vaccine as part of your hobby ? If so, was your insurance company willing to pay for it ?
- Lambdanaut 8y agoI've been told that within an anechoic chamber, it's so quiet that some people start to hear the quiet high-pitched chatter of their nervous system screeching out a tune not unlike that of a 90s telephone modem. But if you know what to listen for, you can hear it without an anechoic chamber.
- keithpeter 8y agoAround 3am occasionally I wake up and yes I can hear the high pitched buzz of what I assume to be my nervous system or possibly just blood circulating around my inner ear. My neighbourhood is very quiet indeed at that time. UK: Malvern, Sugarloaf Hill. On a crisp day in autumn. Walking down the escarpment in complete silence. No birds. One of my most vivid memories. Strange isn't it? OA: I found Kagge's book a little thin and shallow - lots of information about his lifestyle and satisfactions, less analysis. Perhaps that is just me.
- tboughen 8y agoThere must be something about the Malvern Hills! Last year I ran up Worcestershire beacon from Great Malvern on a gorgeous spring day. Quite a few people were up there enjoying the day. There wasn’t a breath of wind, no one was talking, and the only sound was the buzz of a drone.
- njarboe 8y agoMost people have ears that actually make sound and you can hear your own ear noise when it is quiet. Source: Working in a lab that recorded these sounds for science.
- jaggederest 8y agoFunny, reading this I am wearing earplugs and the dominant sounds are my heartbeat, the vibrato of muscle tension, and the incredibly high-pitched sound of what might be neurons firing, a bit like a TV displaying a blank picture.
- cimmanom 8y agoI believe that last one is known as tinnitus.
- bloak 8y agoIs it? I have experienced both these things: 1. A high-pitched hum, that is always there, if I choose to listen to it in a quiet place. (It's quiet enough now in my kitchen at 08:05; the only real sound I can hear is a collared dove every now and then.) If I really concentrate on it it can turn into a sound almost like crashing waves. 2. A ringing sound that is loud enough to interfere with hearing real sounds. I only have this a few times a year, often brought on by loud noises. I had assumed that 1 is a standard feature of human hearing, while 2 is a medical condition called tinnitus. However, although lots of people have described 1, I'm not sure that everyone experiences it. It would be useful to have different names for these two things, even if they are to be described as two types of tinnitus.
- srean 8y agoIndeed. In fact I can get to 1 when its quiet and I have my full concentration. I think the nervous system has a dynamic gain. Its when things are quiet that the gain is high enough to tune into the high pitch hum. Hearing it for me is a good sign that I am now ready and in the 'zone'. It is insanely frustrating when you want to get into the zone but cant, at such times i really crave for the hum to start.
- cimmanom 8y agoTinnitus can become permanent. It's common in those who have abused their hearing with extended exposure to loud noise - be it at a loud workplace, rock concerts, or just blasting music through headphones. Because of that last one, it's quite common among those of us who grew up in the Walkman generation and later.
- agumonkey 8y agopsychological bias too my mother couldn't bear noise from the TV if my father pick the channel. "too loud". But if it's her choice of show, suddenly sound level is not an issue anymore.
- paublyrne 8y agoMy parents too, exactly as you describe. It's funny to me, now that I don't have to live with them.
- spc476 8y agoA decade ago and friend and I visited Rachel, NV (home of the Little A'Le'Inn, closest civilian location to Area 51, etc). We arrived there around 11:30 am. It was dead quiet. No wind. No insects. Nothing. But not nothing, because my friend as annoyed by my shoes squeaking as I walked. Turned out his shoes started squeaking as well. It was a weird experience.
- maxander 8y agoWhat tiny sounds have we all been making every day of our lives, but have never been in a quiet enough space to hear?
- gowld 8y agoNo one? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_(film)
- marak830 8y agoThis is what I came to say. I don't want silence, I just want a massive reduction in the noise I hear. I'm a bit different than than the average here, I'm a chef. My extraction fans, ovens, hot pans, all make a tremendous oint of noise, by the end of my shift I just want quiet. I want to get home, kiss my son good night, try to remind my wife that I'm her Husband, and get some sleep in a quiet area. No noise freaks me ou though.