Silence and Human Speed

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by eeyore

but IMO the answer isn't to go back to a pre IR economy , but to take what we have leasnt from the IR and learn to apply it more sparingly, live more simply and learn to relax.

Yes, you are right, and of course we can choose. Except for the whine of bikes, that carry for 5 miles or more, the numpty driving down the road with 120 bpm shaking the world around him and so on. Agressive noise is a problem , even in very rural areas, and there is no need for it.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

Yes, you are right, and of course we can choose. Except for the whine of bikes, that carry for 5 miles or more, the numpty driving down the road with 120 bpm shaking the world around him and so on. Agressive noise is a problem , even in very rural areas, and there is no need for it.

I totally agree with that, there isnt a solution that i can see though as we dont want a dictatorial noise police hiding behind every tree.

come to that we have seen threads on here with people complaining about the noise from rookeries / house sparrows on the roof/ sheep in the field etc.

the bottom line is that although we cant change/control the noise we can control our reaction to it , as getting all worked up doesnt help your health , far better to take a more zen mindset (oh dear i'm begining to sound like tuftie ) - mind you i dont really practice what i preach - I'm probably the halfwit driving with 120 break horse power going come on , come on get out of the £$%%^ ing way , i'm late, i'm late arrrgh etc.

[zan]

interesting discussion I am all for a bit of tranquility in my life! I lived in Oban for about a year and a half while I was on placement at uni, and used to have holidays in cabins at loch Awe every October until I was about 17 or so and I think I'm suited to that kind of place where you can find yourself some (ie several miles of) personal space very easily! I can't stand London, and even Glasgow (where I grew up and now live again) is too much of a city for me.

Don't get me wrong though, I wouldn't trade the benefits of the IR for a self-sufficient lifestyle - I like big shops, and going to the pub and having the TV for the dark, rainy winters But then, I'm probably biased. Without antibiotics, I'd probably be deafened by the ear infections I had as a child, and without modern surgery \ drugs, I dread to think what my appendicitis\appendectomy would have been like. It was bad enough with all that! Alternative therapies may have a place, but as a scientist myself, I personally need to see proper evidence that they work before I'd put my trust in it (and remember, the flipside to the placebo effect is the nocebo effect, which may be just as damaging as the placebo is beneficial...)

Also, how much would really change? Free time would be a privilidge of the elite, moneyed, or upper-classes and the rest of us would still be working, only we'd have to work harder because we wouldn't have the time-saving devices we have now, and you'd be even harder pressed to find five minutes peace. I hear what you are saying, but I think finding your own peace and tranquility is something people have to do for themselves. Wishing we were not industrialised or that everyone was self-sufficient would probably stress out more people in the population than it would calm down!

Anyway, enough rambling from me- I hope there's at least a little sense in there

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by eeyore

the bottom line is that although we cant change/control the noise we can control our reaction to it , as getting all worked up doesnt help your health , far better to take a more zen mindset

What you say has a lot of real merit. I have had tinnitus for quite a few years, the solution that works for me is thatI understand it is not going away and it is not hurting me, and thankfully I now have no problems with it though it is still there. Walking into the back garden and hearing the birds giving it large (as I believe you young people say) is a pleasure and also an intellectual excercise as you try to match sound to bird. 5 silly folk setting off from the lights and doing a wheelie up the road can jolt you. Don't tell me that those bikes have to make that level of noise, the sound is tuned to help sell the bike. I have been a bike rider and I understand the thrill involved and the adrenaline jolt you can get., I just think a nice electric engine should do for those nowadays. Just a quiet purr should be fine.

Warning:- Parts of this posting are slightly tongue in cheek.

[Doggle Avaddit]

The closest I've got to silence is one time I was hiking around Edale. I'd got to a highish plateau where there were no people, no wind, and no other noises, so I sat down, amazed at the total lack of sound.
After a while I began to realise there was a strange sort of background humming. The more I listened, the louder it became. Eventually I realised I was hearing the millions of insects all around me. (It was in the summer months) Bees, flies, whatever makes noises when they fly. I was astounded! It was the first time I had ever been able to hear this background hubbub of life all around me properly.


I haven't been in such a quiet environment since, perhaps I never will be.

[dan-fisher]

Originally Posted by tufftie

I'm sorry if I haven't posted this in the right section but i wasn't sure quite where to post it and this seemed the most appropriate!

It's very, very quiet and peaceful where we are and especially when we're out gardening in some of the more remote places. No noise whatsoever apart from birdsong..no distant cars, no planes and no hum of machinery..be it mearly the hum of a fridge or computer. It's the kind of silence which is quite still, the kind of silence you can listen to and be at peace with. It also stills the mind and makes you do things at a more gentle pace - a proper human pace.

We seem to suffer from so many health issues now - both physical and emotional - and I'm sure these stem from lack of true silence and peace combined with the fact that we are moving at a constantly faster pace to keep up with the machines that seem to subconsciously rule our lives.

The Industrial Revolution has a lot to answer for and while I know this is purely an ideal situation it would be lovely if we could gradually revert back to pre I.R. times. Not only would it help us with health issues but it would also be beneficial to the environment and all its ecosystems.

Food for thought. Good post thanks.

[sunnydale]

Originally Posted by Doggle Avaddit

The closest I've got to silence is one time I was hiking around Edale. I'd got to a highish plateau where there were no people, no wind, and no other noises, so I sat down, amazed at the total lack of sound.
After a while I began to realise there was a strange sort of background humming. The more I listened, the louder it became. Eventually I realised I was hearing the millions of insects all around me. (It was in the summer months) Bees, flies, whatever makes noises when they fly. I was astounded! It was the first time I had ever been able to hear this background hubbub of life all around me properly.


I haven't been in such a quiet environment since, perhaps I never will be.

Were you sat on Kinder Scout? It can be a beautifully peaceful place - if you go at the right time - and I find it's the perfect place to just 'be'.
You know that the noise of the world is still there, somewhere in the distance...but for a time, all is stagnant as if time has stopped.
You can be completely alone in an environment like this - but never feel lonely. The 'natural' sounds keep you company

[acherontia]

An interesting debate.

As regards my personal survival I was clever enough not to be blue as I was ABnegative as well as Mum! LOL
I may not have been as shortsighted in the past because, as a child, I would not have had an inept optician who didn't know how to prevent my eyes rapidly worsening - she kept bringing my vision up to perfect. So much for the 60s!

Also - what we must remember here is that all is relative. In another few 100 years time (if we're still here) they will no doubt wonder how on earth we survived in such primitive conditions. Let's face it - we're not that much advanced while we can still allow some of the things that go on in this world. I'm sure it's a case of 'not knowing any different' and trying to see past the so called 'benefits' we have and perhaps appreciate the simpler things.

Back in the 'bad old days' (ie the medieval age) there was much more leisure time. I'm sure that people groaned and moaned about the encumbrances of circumstances pretty much the way we do now. For 'Squire/King substitute 'Mps/Bankers'.
I think that we are often fed a consistent diet of 'aren't we lucky nowadays' in order to make us thankful and compliant. The material objects that we are taught to desire not only ensure our financial contribution to society but they also make slaves of us just as much as the need for food used to.
As far as female standing is concerned - there were probably more remnants and influences of the old religion in those days - possibly counteracting the put downs that the romans and church enforced on us.
The village wisewomen had great standing - before they burnt them all and the doctors started experimenting with their own theories.

Just another perspective I suppose?

You are very 'fortunate' Tufftie - even when I stand on top of Whitbarrow Scar in the S Lakes I can still hear the faint hum of traffic.

Acherontia

[squodgy]

I live near the River Kent in Cumbria and recently, on a glorious, still summers day was travelling along the north shore of the main estuary, between Levens Hall & Milnthorpe & stopped to take in the feel...dare I say ambience?
Immediately the near silence enveloped me, punctured only by about 6 trilling skylarks as they twirled in descent to their decoy landing site. Only to rise again and repeat the 5 minute routine.
It was really lovely and took me back to my childhood near Marple just post war....lovely memories.
A week later, on another balmy July day I returned to the North shore of the Kent hoping to have a repeat performance....but no.
All but one of the fields had been mowed for silage, giant tractors, at least four times the size of the old MF's & Fordsons of my youth made easy work of each field, chewing it up in a fraction of the time it took only 20 years ago.
On one as yet uncut field, a solitary Skylark sang away, presumably innocently ignorant of its future, approaching it relentlessly in the distance....then, with a growl, the monster levelled the field, nest, babes etc, ready to produce feed for the insatiable demand of the monsters who made it, and the bottom line that demands it.
Fortunately, I believe the birds would probably be at least on their second brood & maybe even their third, but whatever happened to crop rotation and the custodianship of our countryside for all?
Thanks must go to Heath I guess.

[RAINBOWRUSSELL]

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

Yes, you are right, and of course we can choose. Except for the whine of bikes, that carry for 5 miles or more, the numpty driving down the road with 120 bpm shaking the world around him and so on. Agressive noise is a problem , even in very rural areas, and there is no need for it.

Just found this post...and I agree bout the bike thing!I will add quickly that I am a speedway/grasstrack fan so you know I'm used to noise...but...

We live just outside a very small hamlet in West Dorset,very quiet,rural,we love it here..my husband is a teacher & rock musician so he is surrounded by noisy beasts in both his jobs...we came here for tranquility in our lives...ok we are surrounded by sheep...but that's ok..bless 'em.Then one day our peace was shattered...there are shot guns going off at all times of day or night...upsets me that peple need to kill for fun.But then even worse..some kids were using a field next to use for hours on end to ride scrambling bikes..they were only just pelting up & down at full speed..not actually racing or practising...this would go on all day Saturday & many evenings..sometimes until after dark!We aksed politely if they could not be doing it so much which of course resulted in abuse ,didn't help when the most 'gobby'one stalled his bike & I couldn't help laughing in his face(oops!)then when walking back down the lane he came hairing along,no helmet,& drove very close to us!Had to be reported!He was not experienced enough to be riding like that on a off road bike.Obviously other people reported it all too because after 5 weeks it stopped,the stupid boy was seen riding on a pavement in the town with 2 pillion passengers!The boys also did not live anywhere near here,would their parents like to put up with it!no!The owner of the field who allowed the kids there does not live here either!It is a shame when a few ruin it for another few!
End of sermon!