Total silence can overwhelm the mind as an alien, unbearable presence

Evidence

But I also sensed that this degree of quiet was too much. It was alien. Even against the backdrop of my own hoarse breath, the sounds my feet made walking, this sky, these mountains, this desert, were excessively big. They seemed to me a presence, an overpowering entity definable only by what they were not. The enormity of comprehending them overwhelmed my resources. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 222

Categorization

• corroborated: 4 independent passages support this claim — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 222
• XREF: connects to: Deep silence can feel like a sensory presence rather than mere absence — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 35; Extreme near-total silence can trigger panic, disorientation, and physical illness — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 474; Extreme physical silence can produce deep restfulness rather than only distress — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 496 (+20 more)

Related

• Silence is not the mere absence of something else, but a complex positive phenomenon #qualifies (0.70) — Silence: The Phenomenon and Its Ontological Significance

Library Connections

• Silence is a positive, self-contained reality rather than mere absence. #corroborates (0.82) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 19

Broader Connections

• Perceived silence emerges only after minutes of acclimatization #expands (0.80) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 114
• Silence is an active presence that must be experienced, not imagined #complicates (0.75) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 26
• In near-total silence a person may hear the mechanics of their own body #exemplifies (0.73) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 578
• Perfect silence as an unattainable absolute still functions as real and necessary #qualifies (0.71)
• Near-total silence reveals that most people generate internal sound perceived as tinnitus #exemplifies (0.68) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 571
• The idea of an absolute silence functions as a necessary reset point for thought #qualifies (0.62) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 531