Sound Pressure
[Image: Luigi Russolo and his noise machines… something otherwise irrelevant to this post] Wired just published a conversation between neurologist Oliver Sacks and journalist Steve Silberman … about music, memory, the neurological benefits and pressures of sound, blindness, and the (possible) dangers of urban noise pollution. An excerpt:
Wired: When you were growing up, hearing music often required going to see it performed. But iPods make music ubiquitous, like mental air-conditioning. What have we gained or lost by that?
Sacks: At first it would seem to be a wonderful gain. Darwin might have had to go to London to see a concert. But I can’t help wondering if the incidence of earworms and musical hallucinations is higher now, with background music in every public place. You can’t go to a restaurant without music, and they get offended if you ask them to turn it off. They feel it’s part of their creativity – they’re doing it for you. Continue reading