SILENCE

"Sometimes the sound of silence is the most deafening sound of all." - K.L. Toth

We are always surrounded by a sea of sound. There is not a minute of the day when we cannot hear some sound. To get an idea of how big a part of sound plays in our lives, imagine what the world would be like without sound. Imagine yourself on a busy street where traffic moves silently. Automobile engines run soundlessly, there is no screech of brakes and an automobile horn never toots. People walk with silent footsteps and close doors noiselessly. Someone drops a few coins which strikes the pavement, bounce and roll without the familiar jingling sound. Some workmen unloading a truck drop a crate. It strikes the ground and breaks open as noiselessly as if it were only the shadow of a crate. A man whistles to his dog, but the animal still runs about, because no shrill of sounds leave his master’s lips. You see a friend and call to him, but he continues on his way because no shout leaps from your mouth.

Many sounds give us pleasure. A most everyone enjoys music and singing. Think how mournful the world would be if you could not listen to music, nor sing, nor whistle when you’re happy. On a quiet summer afternoon, the songs of birds, the hum of insects, the rustle of the breeze in the leaves, and perhaps the soft murmur of a brook – all these thins give us pleasure, but none of these would exist in a soundless world.

Our safety depends to a large degree on sound. The baby’s cry brings his mother quickly to his aid. Everybody recognizes the cry “help!” as a signal that someone is in danger. At traffic crossings, the shriek of a train whistle or the blast of an automobile. Ships in a fog ward of their presence by the croaking of foghorns. In a forest, the crackling sound of a tree about to fall warns the lumberjack to jump out of the way of danger. How difficult it would be to avoid danger in a world without sound.

The most common way mankind communicates thoughts is by taking that is, by making the sounds we call words. Think how difficult our lives would be if we could not talk. We could, of course, still communicate with one another with signs, as deaf persons do. But then we would always have to look directly at the person talking to us. We could never talk to someone in the next room nor call to a friend we see on the street. Communicating with large groups would be difficult. A speaker, instead of using a microphone, would probably have his magnified image projected on a large screen, so that the audience could see his hand-and finger-signs. Instead of the telephone for long distance communication, we would probably have some system of blinking colored lights to spell out words in a code. No one would have invented radio, and the first type of broadcasting might have been “television-silent” television.

Without sound, then, our world would lose some its beauty. It would be a dangerous place, and one in which communication would be difficult and cumbersome.