A response to notes on Lauren Brown's Listening and silence in built environment, Architecture + Philosophy RMIT 27 May 2010
Is sound a prerequisite connection plain for individuals? Is silence the zero 0 space in the flicker of life? It seems to me that it is often the realm of sound in which we interact, but as a space which has an common asymptote between people. We can only get so close to the maximum, once the ceiling of sound is broken there is only noise and effect. I refer of course to a conversation between individuals, to make decisions to create thought and projects together. There needs to be restraint, and the most extreme restraint is silence itself - utter opportunity, utter potential, utter space for utterance... I need some peace and quiet. The noise of the city and its streets is vitality, but we often need the respite of our room, our partners, our earphones to recuperate from the interaction with others. Is this exhaustion the predecessor of antipathy, apotheosis, non participation? Communication seems the commonly-understood ground for exchange. It is obvious. So then, how do we regulate this space, should it be regulated? Is this the role of cultural politeness, /and politics?