Our weekly series of quotes aims to report on the convergence of really old things and the very new, and to shine an acceptably diffuse beam of light on the bits of flotsam and jetsam we observe from this crashing together of historical eras.

Today, we quote from a current news article that has no small relevance to our musical mission.  The topic at hand hearkens back to our discussion of background noise levels, and how a constant competing hiss-hum-crash-rattle-buzz not only interferes with our ability to hear nuance in quiet music circa 500 years ago but also, in a broad and sweeping sense, destructively degrades our overall ability to concentrate.

From an Op-Ed contribution titled „Sound Bites” by Katherine Bouton, published in the New York Times and dated August 2, 2012:

Noise causes hearing loss, and hearing loss itself is bad for your health. There are 48…