Misreading the cultural meaning of silence can cause fatal international incidents
Evidence
The Cypriots responded with silence. The Egyptian took this as assent, or at worst ambivalence, and landed. Cypriot soldiers attacked the commandos, killing fifteen of them. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 365
Categorization
- corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 365
- XREF: connects to: Apaches deploy silence specifically in situations that are ambiguous or unpredictable — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 387; Silence carries deeper meaning and value than speech does. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 16; Silence takes its meaning from surrounding sound — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 864 (+7 more)
Broader Connections
- Culture-specific behavioral meanings generate most urban culture-shock abroad
#expands(0.82) - Silence is a positive presence rather than mere absence
#expands(0.65) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1294 - Silence takes its meaning from surrounding sound
#expands(0.60) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 864 - Silence functions as an underrated conversational presence
#expands(0.60) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1023