Pure, absolute silence has never existed and cannot exist

Evidence

Pure, untouched silence has never existed, and never will. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 603

Categorization

• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 603
• XREF: connects to: The act of hearing itself may make true absolute silence unattainable — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 526; Total silence is equated biologically and symbolically with death itself — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 611; The brain’s evolved vigilance actively forecloses the possibility of true silence (+15 more)

Library Connections

• Zero decibels is a perceptual threshold, not a true physical absence of sound #expands (0.86) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 473

Broader Connections

• A perfect unchanging sound would be perceived as silence. #qualifies (0.80) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 881
• The brain’s evolved vigilance actively forecloses the possibility of true silence #expands (0.79)
• Silence is a positive, self-contained reality rather than mere absence. #qualifies (0.77) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 19
• The brain amplifies internal noise so total silence cannot be perceived #expands (0.70) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 609
• Silence is a positive presence rather than mere absence #complicates (0.70) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1294
• Silence is an active presence that must be experienced, not imagined #complicates (0.60) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 26
• Silence takes its meaning from surrounding sound #expands (0.60) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 864