Silence!!!

[Me-Ike]

^ Ah, I see.
Yes, I hear small children can be noisy.

Silence is great for daydreaming, though I do like the sound of the wind through trees.

Well, I have been very absolute in my description, but I'd actually exempt sounds in nature. Rain against the window pane is an all-time classic. Wind in trees most lovely. The sea equals peace and love and candy. I mainly meant man-made noises when wishing for silence.

Don't give up on us yet! I'm a big fan of silence, too. It's so peaceful.

I love music, but not when I'm concentrating on reading or work, or if it's close to bedtime, or if the day has been too full of people. And I hate visiting people who have the TV on all the time. TV as background noise makes me want to run right out the door.

You're welcome in my Silence Room (sssh!) as well!
We should stop there, though. The breathing might get distracting.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I love silence. I my self am a rather quiet person and try not to make a lot of noise with whatever I am doing.

I always use headphones while listening to music and when I'm watching TV or playing a game or whatever I always keep the volume down very low.

And I have to have things perfectly quiet when I'm trying to sleep, read, or write. I get distracted very easily for one thing, but I'm doing something peaceful, my environment should be peaceful as well.

I also love going up to the foothills to walk/hike and contemplate the meaning of life.. It's so amazingly quiet up there.

 

[Kestra]

^ Oh, yes. I can understand that. It must be difficult. I'd play some classical music for you in my Silence Room (sssh!).

But (mostly) everyone else here: boo! I expected more of you, TrekBBS. I am deeply disappointed in all of you (Kestra most of all, my beacon of hope, noisily extinguished).

I will construct for you a magnificent silence room, to which you hold the only key.

 

[Satyrquaze]

I've found that I need near absolute silence to do anything that requires active thought on my part. Usually when I'm drawing, writing a tactful work email, or anything else that involves the slightest amount of creativity. I don't think I actually noticed this until I read the OP.

I've found that listening to music is okay when I'm reading, but generally this can lead to me associating a particular song with a section of book I read months or years prior. This can be annoying if you enjoy that particular song, but were disappointed in that particular book.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

My first thought upon reading this thread title was Paul screaming "Silence!!!" in David Lynch's Dune, which is only a few seconds into this video. (The video also has pre-Jean-Luc Patrick Stewart .)

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoPKajvq3gE[/yt]

So, let's hear it for Silence! *loud cheers*

Seriously, I love silence. I concentrate much better in it. I really value the time I spend thinking. Fortunately, I get enough silence to accommodate me, so I'm satisfied on that front.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I also enjoy silence - particularly when reading - though I'm fine with a low hum of background noise. What does punctuate my concentration or peace of mind is any noise that's sudden and loud or, amusingly enough, quiet and repetitive. My mind is very sensitive to sound patterns and if there's a repetitive noise, no matter how quiet, my mind will latch onto it and repeat with it, and this takes up more and more of my mind until in some cases I can't do much of anything but sit there and resonate with it. Sudden loud noises, meanwhile, cause me to literally jump, send shivers all along my body, and cause my heart rate and general alertness to peak. Basically, I'm overly sensitive to my environment. So, yes, I like quiet, but casual low-level activity or chatter won't bother me while repetitive noise, no matter how quiet, will.

...this can lead to me associating a particular song with a section of book I read months or years prior. This can be annoying if you enjoy that particular song, but were disappointed in that particular book.

I do something similar - my mind forms associations all over the place, to the degree that certain words, sounds or ideas can trigger associated memories that bring with them painful surges (psychosomatic, I assume). I sometimes do odd things like clutch my head suddenly and even say "ow!" or "sorry!", which must make me look mad or something. Don't worry, gentle citizens, I'm not arguing with voices in my head which tell me to burn things, I just had a bad memory jump up thanks to an association with something harmless. It's merely a minor irritation.

 

[GemHaters]

...I kill you?

 

[RandyS]

I much prefer silence, particularly when I am reading.

Me too. I don't need absolute silence in order to read. I can easily tune out outside noise, but I prefer my reading time to be quiet.

 

[MacLeod]

Don't mind silence from time to time, usually depends on my mood.

 

[An Officer]

I go through phases. Depends on what I'm doing with my time... if I've had noisy days, then I enjoy silent evenings... in my previous home, the only noise to be heard in the evenings were the pages of my books turning, it was a very well insulated building, I really enjoyed it! Now, my days are much quieter and so I welcome a bit of noise, even when I'm sleeping, it doesn't bother me.

 

[auntiehill]

I have so gotten used to silence that I find it hard to adjust to so much noise in other places.

I work alone at home on my computer. I'm reading papers that could determine whether or not someone gets a professional license or into grad school; I try to focus solely on my work, so I keep distractions to a minimum. The only time I talk to my staff is when I have to answer questions or correct their work, but I do all that over the phone. Even my neighborhood is quiet, until the kids come back from school around 3pm.

When I'm not working, I have music playing, but that's about it. I don't understand having noise just for the sake of noise. It has to be something I'm paying attention to---a movie, music, a game--or it just annoys me.

 

[B.J.]

...I kill you?

^This is what I was expecting when I opened this thread!

 

[GemHaters]

...I kill you?

^This is what I was expecting when I opened this thread!

Jeff Dunham ftw!

 

[Mary Ann]

Once kids enter the picture, silence almost never happens.

Ain't that the truth! Mine are teenagers and a preteen now, and things are a lot more quiet than they used to be, especially as some days they only seem to leave their dens in search of food.

Now silence doesn't really matter. I can tune almost anything out. I actually focus better if there is back ground noise.

The same's happened to me. When I was studying at uni the first time I was single, childless and living in my parents' basement. Silence was a must for me to be able to concentrate, as I have difficulty filtering out background noise. To this day I hate having a telly or talk radio on in the background because I feel compelled to listen to it. However when I'm working on coursework now I can handle some background noise, provided it's not too loud. I'm still a very light sleeper, though, and the only music I play when studying or reading is classical. When reading I prefer complete silence, though there's always the sound of ticking clocks in my house, which I love.

 

[Deckerd]

I can tune most noises out too, especially when I'm reading or concentrating.

The only time I need quiet is when I'm falling asleep. Once I'm asleep it doesn't matter, which is fortunate since my husband snores like a surfacing whale. I just go to bed before he does. Simple.

 

[Mary Ann]

In our house it's my husband who falls asleep in two minutes and can sleep through anything, which is a good thing as I'm the one who snores like a surfacing whale.

 

[Holdfast]

I almost always have the TV on while I'm at home, though it's pretty rare I'm actually watching it. I like the background chatter it provides. But like Deckerd upthread, when it comes to sleep time, there must be near-silence or I can't drop off. I quite like hearing soft sounds from outside (e.g. a breeze through the leaves, or the occasional crunch of a neighbour's drive or something like that), so I don't need complete silence. But it must be an infrequent sound. Ticking clocks, for instance, are banished from the bedroom!

There are other times for turning off any man-made noise of course e.g. if I'm just daydreaming or sitting outside somewhere watching the world go by. And sometimes, I like to meditate a bit. But at home, generally, TV on!

 

[iguana_tonante]

I live in a Italian neighbourhood. Silence is an unheard concept.

 

[Kestra]

My husband will complain about sounds that don't even register with me, like the neighbor's swing creaking outside. I dislike hearing music blasting through the walls, but I'm totally okay with street noise. I lived in a medical district for a few years so in addition to the usual city noises, there was the added sound of sirens at all hours. I quickly grew accustomed to it and I honestly miss the noise of the city now.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE0R8Kpd8f4[/yt]