Lifehacker pointed recently to SimplyNoise, a site whose sole purpose is to generate white noise. White noise, apparently, “can be helpful for everything from aiding sleep to blocking distraction.” There are even desktop programs available so you can fill your speakers with what is supposed to be the soothing/focus-inducing sound of a snowed-out TV rushing rapids, even when you’re offline (ChatterBlocker for PC, Noise for Mac).
(On a side note, Wikipedia states that “white noise can be used to disorient individuals prior to interrogation and may be used as part of sensory deprivation techniques.” So it can eliminate distraction, but also disorient you? Hmmm…)
I feel that I do best when I have a little music and some subtle distractions (people moving around me in a library, for example). If I’m in too quiet or calm an environment, then my focus wanders. It seems a little counterintuitve, I suppose. The best way I can describe it is like this: in an environment where there is a little bit going on around me, my mind grips a little bit tighter onto the task at hand. It’s almost like a challenge to my brain to have a little bit of noise in the background. If there’s too much, then my brain can’t hold on; if there’s not enough, then my thoughts wander. Go figure.
But white noise? Surely not. It’s still noise, right?
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