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Headphones Everywhere

newyorker.com

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Re: Headphones Everywhere

#91

Post by undersuit »

kalleboo wrote: post #76
cholantesh wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the argument is that earphones could be used as a garroting device.

Would be interesting if they designed a pair of earbuds that had a deliberately weak cable so it couldn't be used as a weapon

Braid a number cables together?

Make tiny wireless earbuds. They can tune into a prison radio station. They are recharged by getting a new one from a prison employee.

But... then somebody might figure out how to take them apart and use the wires to affix a sharpened PCB to their shiv.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#92

Post by pYQAJ6Zm »

Before I came to live at a dense urban area, I couldn’t imagine myself wearing headphones outdoors. How quickly I changed. There is just too much noise, too many distractions, and wearing headphones with some of my preferred music helps in effectively ignoring all of that. So I joined the herd, and now wear earphones practically all the time I spend outside if alone.

I take care not to use a high volume, unless I’m in a reasonably safe setting, like on a train. Listening to music instead of the traffic, people talking too loud, advertisements, etc., is great, but only as long as it doesn’t pose a safety risk.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#93

Post by jessaustin »

undersuit wrote: post #91
kalleboo wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would be interesting if they designed a pair of earbuds that had a deliberately weak cable so it couldn't be used as a weapon

Braid a number cables together? Make tiny wireless earbuds. They can tune into a prison radio station. They are recharged by getting a new one from a prison employee. But... then somebody might figure out how to take them apart and use the wires to affix a sharpened PCB to their shiv.

If the prison provides them, they might be made location-aware and tamper-resistant. "Unit 23892 was in Hallway 11A at 1130 hrs when it went offline. That hallway was occupied by Prisoners 981, 1481, and 1891 at that time. Unit 23892 had previously been checked out by Prisoner 2110."

It just stands to reason, as the Panopticon is assembled for those of us who are yet "free", the same technology could also be used for those who more obviously are not.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#94

Post by sangnoir »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #64
sangnoir wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe the ubiquity of headphones is telling us that our shared spaces are too loud Or maybe the shared spaces are plain boring . I don't know what the author expects people to do on flights, but I'm not going to be twiddling thumbs for any flight longer than 30 minutes. Substitute headphones for paperbacks or newspapers, and the rant would still be relevant (for the lack of a better word).

I'm not sure if it was intentional or not but it's interesting all of your alternatives are solitary activities? How about talking to the people you are travelling with (family/friends)? Seems to me that's the kind of thing the article is hinting at.

> I'm not sure if it was intentional or not but it's interesting all of your alternatives are solitary activities? How about talking to the people you are travelling with (family/friends)

It was intentional, and my point was that the author wasn't really railing against headphones exactly: humans have been engaging in solitary activity in public for eons, and the author is attempting to headfake readers into believing it's a recent phenomenon.

> How about talking to the people you are travelling

When traveling with friends/family, I usually talk to them. With strangers it's a dire gamble: on one hand, I choose my travel music/movie/book ahead of time and they are guaranteed to be interesting. On the other hand, the gent or lady the next seat over could be a great conversationalist or they could be really annoying and I won't tell them to shut up for civility's sake.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#95

Post by sangnoir »

rimantas wrote: post #77
sangnoir wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe the ubiquity of headphones is telling us that our shared spaces are too loud Or maybe the shared spaces are plain boring . I don't know what the author expects people to do on flights, but I'm not going to be twiddling thumbs for any flight longer than 30 minutes. Substitute headphones for paperbacks or newspapers, and the rant would still be relevant (for the lack of a better word).

Being bored can be very benefitial. A lot of inventions and solutions to hard problems came when people were "bored". Just like you cannot hear a faint voice in a loud environment you may miss some quiter stuff if you are constantly overstimulating yourself.

> Being bored can be very benefitial

Might as well be, but I choose to take my boredom in moderation. Even with personal entertainment, a 12 hour intercontinental will have it's boring moments

> A lot of inventions and solutions to hard problems came when people were "bored".

My counter-thesis is that the solutions come when people are "relaxed" or "distracted", not necessarily "bored". I have had my fair share of Eureka moments on walks or in the shower.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#97

Post by redrummr »

tartuffe78 wrote: post #3

Seems to assume everyone is listening to music, I'd bet it's closer to a 50/50 split between music and podcasts.

I've still to meet a person who listens to podcasts. And I know a few techies here in Sydney. Might be more of an American thing? Not sure.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#98

Post by castis »

allemagne wrote: post #61
castis wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sunglasses and beards do not obscure your entire face to the point where you are unrecognizable whereas a burka obscures all but your eyes. Surely you can see the difference?

A beard, large sunglasses, and a hoodie can obscure all but your nose. Do you really believe a burka is that much different where one should be legal and one should not?

If you don't think that the situation is more complex than wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, then I don't believe that answering your question would have any positive outcome.

Having said that. If I were to see someone walking around with a beard, large sunglasses, and a hoodie in a possible effort to conceal their identity, I would look at them a little more careful than I would the people around them.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#99

Post by castis »

oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #71
castis wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sunglasses and beards do not obscure your entire face to the point where you are unrecognizable whereas a burka obscures all but your eyes. Surely you can see the difference?

Clearly it's a scale, though. Do you think a man with a full, long beard wearing large sunglasses is just as recognisable as one without?

I agree with you that it (like everything else) shouldn't be a black and white issue.

I should have stated my original response a little more clearly. I don't think someone with 40-70% of their face covered is as recognizable as someone with 0% of their face covered.

Re: Headphones Everywhere

#100

Post by loco5niner »

burkaman wrote: post #79
coldpie wrote: post #15

> Is the ubiquity of headphones just another emblem of catastrophic social decline, edging us even deeper into narcissism and unsociability? No. * closes tab

As always, nobody is impressed that you found a reason not to read the article. As a general rule, if you couldn't even make it to the first line, you probably aren't capable of making a useful comment.

I didn't read the article either, but he/she is likely simply refering to Betteridge's law of headlines that states "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."

This is a valid point, and I am quick to avoid reading articles with such 'click-baity' headlines myself.

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