A Call for Quiet

Charlie Wood
06 November 2013

Too much information
Running through my brain
Too much information
Driving me insane
—The Police

This is a call for quiet.

Our world is increasingly saturated with information. Computers generate it. Sensors record it. The internet in all its various forms transmits it, faster and faster. Devices in our pockets, on our wrists, on our desks and walls, and attached to our faces force it into our consciousness. It's too much.

It all started with the noblest of intentions: to inform. But then, propelled by the profit motive, the inexorable march of technology, and our own innate desire for more, it spun out of control. Now information is crowding out the better parts of our lives.

We must reclaim our sanity, our quiet. We must establish personal space in which to reflect, daydream, and hear things said only softly. We must insulate ourselves from the din. We must regain control.

This is a call for quiet. For less noise, so that we can hear the signal. Or, if we so choose, that we can hear nothing at all.