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Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

nautil.us

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Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#111

Post by magic_beans »

mgkimsal wrote: post #20
cyphar wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I didn't understand when I visited the US is that people applaud in American cinemas. I don't understand why that's seen as appropriate.

having lived here 40+ years, and seen many movies, I think I've seen/heard applause or cheering maybe... 2 or 3x? At the end of a fantastic movie, there may be cheering. Massive stunt that fools everyone - maybe. But cheering/applause at the cinema in the US is certainly not common.

Do you not live in a big city? Nearly every movie I see ends in applause.

And when I saw Get Out...

Standing ovation at the end.

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#112

Post by magic_beans »

procedural_love wrote: post #85
vitro wrote: post #25

Another thing is advertisement pollution. Just notice it when going around in some bigger cities. Ads everywhere, shouting at you and not letting you to rest. Even if you don't look at them, they are still there, talking to you.

This article itself may be paid advertising, perhaps by the Finland marketing board. They even mention VisitFinland.com in the final paragraph. "Science says quiet is good for you." "Finland is a place that is quiet." "You should go to Finland." It's not even subtle but I didn't see it mentioned in these comments at all.

If it was a paid ad, it was successful, because now I want to go to Finland.

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#113

Post by magic_beans »

blunte wrote: post #10
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Primary schools are extremely noisy environments IME.

Not just the sounds of noise, but the mental busyness as noise... a child's mind is so much less full. As adults we get so accustomed to "noise" that we often don't realize it's there. Every time I turn around, I have taxes or some other painful administrative thing to do. That's noise in my head that buzzes quietly at times or very loudly as a deadline approaches. We have job noise - projects, human conflicts, finan…

Perhaps I was a more troubled child, but my mind was constantly full of buzzing, illogical anxieties when I was a kid. Only now have I been able to outgrow them, and my mind is much more soothed.

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#114

Post by dipppy »

bernardino wrote: post #32
jimmies wrote: post #11

American culture of making noise and hyping is tiring and annoying at times. Sports events are the most prominent example. Going to popular sports matches in the US: football, ice hockey, basketball, etc. and you'll be bombarded with ads, noise, hype from the loudspeakers and flashing lights from the huge screens -- every single second you're there. When you watch the Super Bowl, you watch more ads than you watch the…

What you said reminds me a lot of what David Foster Wallace once said in an interview: "No, it's um... I mean, there's a difference, though, I think, between being mildly bored and but then there's another kind of boredom that I think you're talking about which is um: reading, reading requires sitting alone, by yourself, in a quiet room. And I have friends, intelligent friends, who don't like to read because they get…

That's a really great quote. Here's the video for anyone looking for the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?src_vid=FkxUY0kxH80&v=UKdZU9Db...

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#115

Post by kqr »

jjeaff wrote: post #92
kqr wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but why? "Good job, projector. You shine ever so brightly among us. and you never missed the screen once during the whole movie!" Or perhaps the crowd applaud themselves for successfully going to the movies again. The possibilities are endless.

Have you ever cried because of a movie? If so, why?

I'd argue crying is a much more primal respons than the somewhat arbitrary slap your open palms together to create a noise response.

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#116

Post by mncharity »

vitro wrote: post #25

Another thing is advertisement pollution. Just notice it when going around in some bigger cities. Ads everywhere, shouting at you and not letting you to rest. Even if you don't look at them, they are still there, talking to you.

> advertisement pollution

HYPER-REALITY[0] is a fun exploration of ad pollution in AR. Of course one can use similar tech to support quiet.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJg02ivYzSs (2016)

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#117

Post by blunte »

magic_beans wrote: post #113
blunte wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just the sounds of noise, but the mental busyness as noise... a child's mind is so much less full. As adults we get so accustomed to "noise" that we often don't realize it's there. Every time I turn around, I have taxes or some other painful administrative thing to do. That's noise in my head that buzzes quietly at times or very loudly as a deadline approaches. We have job noise - projects, human conflicts, finan…

Perhaps I was a more troubled child, but my mind was constantly full of buzzing, illogical anxieties when I was a kid. Only now have I been able to outgrow them, and my mind is much more soothed.

There's good buzz and bad buzz. Or maybe I should say constructive and destructive. It's possible for the mind to be so flooded with ideas and solutions and other creative thoughts that it can be difficult to focus and complete any one thing before the next demands attention.

Either way, gaining some control or having some tool to choose when to quiet the noise can be very beneficial.

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#118

Post by mgkimsal »

jjeaff wrote: post #93
mgkimsal wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

having lived here 40+ years, and seen many movies, I think I've seen/heard applause or cheering maybe... 2 or 3x? At the end of a fantastic movie, there may be cheering. Massive stunt that fools everyone - maybe. But cheering/applause at the cinema in the US is certainly not common.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you have mostly lived in all white areas and or watched movies that appeal primarily to white audiences. Go watch a Tyler Perry movie or the recent black panther if you want to hear lots of clapping or cheering during a movie.

In the last 15 years yeah. Before that probably somewhat more mixed area, but possibly so on movie choices. I don't go to many 'summer blockbuster' sort of movies any more.

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#119

Post by dvtv75 »

spike021 wrote: post #63
DoreenMichele wrote: post #46

In a remote and quiet place, Vikman says, she discovers thoughts and feelings that aren’t audible in her busy daily life. “If you want to know yourself you have to be with yourself, and discuss with yourself, be able to talk with yourself.” I was a homemaker for years. A lot of housework is fairly mindless, allowing for uninterrupted deep thought because most folks will not bother you while you are doing laundry. The…

I think I'd agree, in part at least. It's great being able to get outside in the relative quiet. Maybe a walk at the beach, or in a forest, or on a hike in the hills. Maybe even a drive if you enjoy drives out of the city. Etc. There isn't anything quite like it. But unfortunately many people seem to forget that we are able to do this.

I live in a house by a road. A particularly busy road. Every time I go outside, whenever I sit inside, any time I'm digging the garden, all I can hear is traffic.

Those few occasions that I'm outside and hear nothing, not even distant traffic only birds, are almost a religious experience for me. It's just so calming, and almost everything in my life seems better for just that short time.

Then the cars come by.

Re: Peace and quiet is all about the noise in your head

#120

Post by ca98am79 »

throwawyy92892 wrote: post #73
colmvp wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A lot of people could probably skip therapy entirely if they could just arrange to hear themselves think. I'm sure you aren't completely implying this but as someone who went through therapy and attended group classes where I encountered dozens of people with significantly worse forms of anxiety, there are a lot of people whose problem IS their thoughts. Negative thoughts are capable of preventing people from doing…

Could you explain a bit more about your negative thought problems and how therapy helped? I'm in a similar situation and am looking at options to help myself. Thanks.

I recommend a 10-day vipassana meditation retreat (https://www.dhamma.org). There are no charges for the courses - not even to cover the cost of food and accommodation. It is non-sectarian, with no hidden agenda. You basically meditate for 12 hours a day - no reading, writing, talking, or listening to music, etc..

I had problems with panic attacks that would sometime keep me awake all night. I tried medication and therapy without much success. What I learned at these retreats was invaluable and has helped me to manage the panic attacks and anxiety.

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