Contrary to the view that silence perception is merely the cognitive accompaniment of an absence of experience, perceptual systems can track events with no positive sensory content.
Evidence
The Perception of Silence (PNAS)
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
- XREF: connects to: Silence is a positive, self-contained reality rather than mere absence. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 19; Total sensory absence can feel generative rather than merely frightening — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 496; Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything, the presence of time, undisturbed. — Quote by Gordon Hempton (+12 more)
Related
- Silence is a positive presence rather than mere absence (similarity 0.89)
- Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything, the presence of time, undisturbed. (similarity 0.88)
- Silence is not the mere absence of something else, but a complex positive phenomenon (similarity 0.88)
- Natural silence is a positive presence felt in the body (similarity 0.87)
- Silence is nothing merely negative; it is not the mere absence of speech, but has a kind of Being of its own. (similarity 0.86)
- Silence is an active presence that must be experienced, not imagined (similarity 0.86)
- The brain’s evolved vigilance actively forecloses the possibility of true silence (similarity 0.86)
- The brain amplifies internal noise so total silence cannot be perceived (similarity 0.85)
- Silence is real, as darkness and cold are real; we feel these as positive sensations, not merely negations of something else. (similarity 0.85)
- Total sensory absence can feel generative rather than merely frightening (similarity 0.85)
- Pure, absolute silence has never existed and cannot exist (similarity 0.85)
- Silence is nothing merely negative; it is a positive, a complete world in itself (similarity 0.84)
- For Picard, silence is not an absence of sound or a void, but has substance and its own reality — silence has Being. (similarity 0.84)
- Silence is not simple; reevaluating its constitutional status requires distinguishing it from blankness and recognizing its communicative function. (similarity 0.84)
- Total silence is equated biologically and symbolically with death itself (similarity 0.84)
Library Connections
Broader Connections
- Silence is a positive presence rather than mere absence
#corroborates(0.90) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1294 - Silence is an active presence that must be experienced, not imagined
#corroborates(0.85) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 26 - The brain amplifies internal noise so total silence cannot be perceived
#expands(0.75) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 609