Loss of quiet erodes the very awareness needed to notice its loss

Evidence

“The loss of quiet is literally the loss of awareness. Quiet is being lost without people even becoming aware of what they’re losing. It’s tragic.” — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 896

Categorization

• SEED: The self-erasing nature of loss — quiet vanishes undetected — is a strong essay hook on environmental perception.
• XREF: Echoes Hempton’s framing of silence as a positive resource in earlier chapters; also the ‘shrinking aural world’ idea. — connects to: Keynote sounds are noticed only when they change or vanish — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 215; Unbearable chronic noise can trigger a sudden resolve to seek out silence — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 33; Extreme acoustic congestion can erase the ability to distinguish any signal — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 245 (+11 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 896

Broader Connections

• Extreme acoustic congestion can erase the ability to distinguish any signal #exemplifies (0.85) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 245
• Unbearable chronic noise can trigger a sudden resolve to seek out silence #complicates (0.80) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 33