Peg’s Piece

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Philosophy Now’s own columnist Peg Tittle asks why we are all so afraid of silence.

What is this fear of silence? On the radio, over the telephone, in person. It’s a curious thing. Dead air for me is not dead at all. It’s very alive, bustling with the work of understanding what was just said and then of judging it – right? Wrong? Important? Trivial? Incomplete? How can I add to it? Change it? Correct it? Improve upon it? Explore it? Use it?

Not only is dead air good, the lack of it is bad. Nonstop patter allows no time to think; in fact, it discourages thought.

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