Hear Here: The impact of sound on personal placement

Abstract

As I sit here and soak in these waters, I listen to the silence that surrounds me. Lightly punctuated by a drip of condensation from above, or a bubble releasing from below, the quietude of a Sierra hot spring saturates me to the bone; the warmth of the water, the pulse of my heart, the absence of sound. It is late at night—perhaps 2 a.m. The heat from yesterday’s sun, rising up from the earth, has momentarily reached equilibrium with a gentle mist suspended beneath a low cloud cover. The night pauses, there is no breeze, it is dead silent.

“She quickly bounced to her feet with a chorus of jingles and chimes and started down the hallway.” Don’t you just love jingles and chimes? I do,” she answered quickly. “Besides, they’re very convenient, for I’m always getting lost in this big fortress, and all I have to do is listen for them and I know exactly where I am.” (Norton Juster, “The Phantom Tollbooth,” 1961, Random House, New York, p. 145)