Silence and other intrusions On the night I was born they had the radio on In some ways, silence exists only in the A countdown survey from numbers forty to one … context of sound. The crunchiness of a footstep on gravel becomes significant I was born to rock, I was born to roll … and apparent mostly because there are I … got it in my soul … no apparent other sounds. A siren sound Donald Roeser hurtling down the highway, the hiss of tyres on wet tarmac, the doof-doof from Don’t you wonder sometimes a passing vehicle cuts briefly past other, The freewheelin’ About sound and vision? fainter noises to gain attention and pro- voke a response. Peter Geyer David Bowie We could take the view that silence is what remains after the undertones of background In the dark I hear a siren and other sounds: the tapping of a keyboard, It screams out into the night for instance; music flowing over the fence; Someone else is in trouble the call of a bird; rain and wind spattering I am not the only one on a window; and so on. Eric Burdon By standing mute looking at something like the Grand Canyon or a desert view, there I’ve lived in houses composed of glass seems an implied under-sound, which may Where every movement is charted be the awe of introverted feeling. Where But now the monitor screens are dark I live, a walking distance from the ocean, And I can’t tell if silent eyes are there something different occurs, in that the sound of waves crashing on the beach sometimes My words are spiders upon the page insinuates itself up the hill and into a silent There seems to be They spin out faith, hope and reason house. But are they meet and just a presumption that Or only dust gathering about my chair In either of these experiences, if you’re like me, you’re also left with thoughts to hear. extraversion is the Sometimes I get the feeling I’m not one of those who have the ability That there’s someone else there to exclude their thoughts from conscious- Peter Hammill ness through meditation or other techniques. way to happiness I’ve tried to do that from time to time, but Someone is calling from the den there seem to be issues of safety and integ- ‘When does Survivor come on?’ rity involved. Those who literally lose them- I hear the car door slamming selves—or seek to do so—in the music or sound or surrounding event, take an opp- Footsteps on a gravel. osite perspective. John Cale I can lose myself in specific music and other compelling things, but rarely in a group Don’t look at the carpet context. When I hear that ubiquitous doof- I threw something awful on it doof sound emanating from cars, I wonder See about the loudness of the sound inside the David Bowie closed windows. I also remember that, 30-odd years ago, Peter Geyer (INTP) researches and Half of sex is fear. I drove regularly to the football in my teaches personality from an MBTI Kip Hanrahan ancient Holden, with a couple of friends. and Jungian perspective in his own Our entertainment on the way (but never way. back) was to enthusiastically sing songs Football is just a series of random events. [email protected] emanating from my tape player plugged www.petergeyer.com.au Malcolm Blight into the cigarette lighter outlet. Australian Psychological Type Review Vol 8 No. 2 2006 49 Peter Geyer: Silence, and other intrusions They weren’t Top 40 songs, but rather my however, it was the most congenial of the selection of Peter Hammill, Jack Bruce and food on offer, mostly from around an inter- the like, so hardly anything anyone else section bearing a striking resemblance to confronted by this sound would know. The many places in the United States, with a car windows were down, so we must have combination of fast food and fuel on the sounded genuinely frightening, particularly corners. I ordered something reasonably at traffic lights. Our beards and long hair palatable from the café there and walked were probably suitably intimidating, even outside to empty seating and a repetition though we were a genial, non-aggressive of the Hobart experience. lot and had no interest in that sort of thing. I’ve never worked out what the benefits Even in those days I habitually turned music are of being shouted at in the morning, or down in the car and elsewhere so it would any time, really, but I put up with it, main- not interfere with what other people wanted ly because there wasn’t any place to go. I to hear, or not hear. Silence is a presump- presumed from this that morning exuber- tion, or acceptable noise of some sort at ance is de rigeur these days. Not sure what any rate. Not all that long ago, I realised I it does for productivity, or anything else, presumed introversion as a starting point but it’s there, anyway. for most people I encountered. Perhaps it’s There may actually be no rationale to this because I managed to get enough 1-on-1 practice. It seems that if you’re in a plane conversations or avoided group settings or these days (Virgin Blue and Qantas come other reasons, who knows? to mind) that the landing is accompanied I think it’s true, in any case, that if you’re by some nondescript rock music. Maybe an extravert you have no idea what it’s like it’s to hide the sounds of engine and metal to be an introvert, regardless of whether from the queasier passengers or the invol- If you are an extravert, or not you’re acquainted with your inner untary swearing when the plane bounces world. The reverse applies too, of course, around a bit after touching down. But it you have no idea what as well as for other opposites. So you have continues on until you disembark: perhaps to ask people, get them to tell their story, afterwards, too, for all I know. or their perspective. it’s like to be an introvert Perhaps, too, FM music (as that seems to Earlier this year I was in Hobart to teach a be what it is) has been around for so long course. The venue was on one of the piers that no-one takes any notice. I’ve never down on the water, which to my mind was been an FM listener (it’s other people’s quite pleasant. I was wandering over to music, after all), but I decided to check it Salamanca Place to buy a newspaper to out recently in my car, and even the one start the day, when I noticed a place on or two songs I knew seemed nondescript. the way offering breakfast and outside The music offered by taxis in Sydney and tables. This seemed fairly congenial, even Brisbane seems alarmingly similar as well. on a brisk morning, until I got closer and I have the idea that the music played was heard a rather loud radio sound coming not there to upset anybody, or challenge from the café, so I sadly gave up the idea them, which is a pity, because I think we of watching the world go by from there. can all do with some of that. Maybe I chose I walked past at similar times later in the the wrong stations. I hope so. week and saw a man sitting outside right But here and elsewhere there seems to be under the speaker. I wondered how he a presumption that extroversion (sic) is the could hear himself think, and why anyone true way to happiness. Personal enjoyment would want to sit there in that precise seat. must be expressed in exuberant fashion, I saw him there on other occasions and and reflection taken perhaps as melancholy. concluded that this was what he preferred. The recently-retired Western Australian Maybe he didn’t notice the sound. premier, Geoff Gallop, seemed to apologise Not long after that I found myself in Perth for his melancholy, something I thought and wandered down to a McDonald’s for was unnecessary if it was a natural part of breakfast. This wasn’t a deliberate choice; him (Wainwright 2006). 50 Australian Psychological Type Review Vol 8 No. 2 2006 Having said that, I understand that being behaviour. So it may be useful to under- yourself can become dangerous for your stand that John Howard, Morris Iemma, health if there are constraints put on what Steve Bracks, Paul Lennon and Helen might be normal behaviour for you, but not Clark, amongst others in the political accepted as normal by others. sphere, probably prefer ISTJ. If political reporters took that as a proposition, we The ADHD/Ritalin debate continues, al- might be spared a lot of waffle and gain a most 30 years after David Keirsey decided bit more insight. One can only hope. to get involved with the Association for Psychological Type in the United States, Even if you know something about type, in the hope that it would be a forum that there’s still the context, epigenetic in some would help to stop children being given cases, by which you get to understand the Ritalin in schools. other person. Recently a person well-known in type circles complimented me, in that I That was, of course, well before Ritalin expressed and disclosed more personal and ADHD became matters of course in feelings than had been experienced with this country.