Silence: In the Age of Noise

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Do note that I am referring here, as Kagge and likely Pascal are, to "western" humanity, as I am aware that many eastern cultures and traditions allow for a much larger place for silence than is typically seen in the western world.) According to a much-referenced study, we humans are worse at concentrating than a goldfish. Humans today lose their concentration after eight seconds, while the goldfish averaged nine.”

Take a deep breath, and prepare to submerge yourself in Silence. Your own South Pole is out there, somewhere. knygą pavadinčiau įžvalgų apie tylą koncentratu. Man dažniausiai kur kas labiau patinka skaityti labiau praskiestą turinį ir iš jo pačiai išsirankioti tai, kas yra aktualu ir svarbu man. Šįkart tokios galimybės kaip ir nebuvo, nes viskas daugiau mažiau jau išrankiota ir patiekta. Knyga parašyta populiariu stiliumi, todėl lengvai skaitoma ir suprantama visiems. Ją perskaičius kaip ir nelieka abejonių, kad tyla yra svarbi ir tikrai verta bent jau pabandyti ją prisijaukinti. Tik man norėjosi galbūt šiek tiek kitokios knygos struktūros ir visko daugiau ir giliau! we fear death to varying degrees, but the fear of not having lived is even stronger. That fear increases towards the end of life, when you understand that it will soon be too late.”

Silence In The Age of Noise is a collection of thoughts on the matter - some more profound than others, but all make clear the overarching point. There's something powerful to be gained from finding the quiet within ourselves. He talks about the silence in art, particularly The Scream by Edvard Munch, "High-pitched noises can have many modes of expression, but the most powerful scream that I have ever experienced is one that is void of sound: The Scream by Munch."

Yaklaşık bir yıldır penceremden birkaç binanın yükselişini izliyorum. Toprağın kazılmasını, katların biçimlenmesini. İzlemekle kalmıyor onu dinliyorum da. Müthiş bir gürültü. Pazar sabahları da dahil olmak üzere.. Kulaklarımı tırmalıyor ama uyumaya devam ediyorum. Erling Kagge is a philosophical adventurer - or perhaps an adventurous philosopher' - New York Times A series of lyrical vignettes. . . . Kagge is clearly qualified to write about the soul-reviving benefits of quiet.” — O, The Oprah Magazine

This isn't a very long book and is more of a series of vignettes by the author on silence. There are 33 sections, with each like a separate essay. If you are someone who already values the essentials of silence, this will probably not add anything that you don't already know. However, they were quite meditative and reflective and I enjoyed the additional perspective on why we need to pursue silence in this age of constant noise and information. The pictures of artwork reflecting "silence" add to the meditations on silence by the author. My children have no real experience of that. Between a great abundance of stuff, of toys and books and magazines, and the constant digital delights from their iPads and streaming TV, boredom doesn’t exist in quite the same way. I found this book deeply unsatisfying. Whatever it's about, it's not really about silence. Erling Kagge is a well known explorer and traveller. My expectations, based on the book's summary, was that he would be writing about his experiences of silence journeying to the North or South Poles, for example, and that he might reach some profound conclusions. But no!

A joyful celebration” (NPR) that shows us why silence is essential to our sanity and happiness—and how it can open doors to wonder and gratitude—from a renowned explorer and acclaimed author. When you’ve invested a lot of time in being accessible and keeping up with what’s happening, it’s easy to conclude that it all has a certain value, even if what you have done might not be important. This is called rationalization. The New York Review of Books labeled the battle between producers of apps “the new opium wars,” and the paper claims that “marketers have adopted addiction as an explicit commercial strategy.” The only difference is that the pushers aren’t peddling a product that can be smoked in a pipe, but rather is ingested via sugar-coated apps. I find myself thinking about how silence can be experienced without the use of techniques. The threshold for finding silence and balance can in fact be lowered. You don’t need a course in silence or relaxation to be able simply to pause. Silence can be anywhere, any time – it’s just in front of your nose. I create it for myself as I walk up the stairs, prepare food or merely focus on my breathing. Sure, we are all part of the same world, but the potential wealth of being an island for yourself is something you carry around with you all the time.

What is silence? Why is it more important than ever?’ … Erling Kagge. Photograph: Simon Skreddernes What is silence? Where is it? Why is it more important now than ever?” were three questions they wanted answered.