{"id":5104,"date":"2012-12-21T09:30:54","date_gmt":"2012-12-21T13:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=5104"},"modified":"2012-12-21T09:44:04","modified_gmt":"2012-12-21T13:44:04","slug":"aldous-huxley-thought-radio-left-something-to-be-desired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/aldous-huxley-thought-radio-left-something-to-be-desired\/","title":{"rendered":"Aldous Huxley, radio in The Age of Noise"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_5106\" style=\"width: 188px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5106\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5106\" alt=\"Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Aldous_Huxley.gif\" width=\"178\" height=\"288\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5106\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>According to English satirist &amp; humanist, Aldous Huxley, we live in the &#8220;Age of Noise.&#8221; When he wrote this, in 1945, he implicated radio:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The twentieth century is, among other things, the Age of Noise. Physical noise, mental noise and noise of desire &#8212; we hold history&#8217;s record for all of them. And no wonder; for all the resources of our almost miraculous technology have been thrown into the current assault against silence. That most popular and influential of all recent inventions, the radio, is nothing but\u00a0a conduit through which pre-fabricated din can flow into our homes. And this din goes far deeper, of course, than the ear-drums. It penetrates the mind, filling it with a babel of distractions &#8211; news items, mutually irrelevant bits of information, blasts of corybantic or sentimental music, continually repeated doses of drama that bring no catharsis, but merely create a craving for daily or even hourly emotional enemas. And where, as in most countries, the broadcasting stations support themselves by selling time to advertisers, the noise is carried from the ears, through the realms of phantasy, knowledge and feeling to the ego&#8217;s central core of wish and desire.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In many ways, this is still true&#8211;but not necessarily of radio. I daresay if Mr. Huxley were still around, radio would be the least of his concerns. \u00a0Radio has gradually become the least invasive of the media that surrounds us, for the &#8220;noise&#8221; is now primarily visual: \u00a0unless we make an effort to &#8220;quiet&#8221; them, images bombard us from all sides&#8230;.Ironically, radio now requires turning down the volume on these and everything else, in order to experience the same world of noise that Huxley once found so overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p>(He obviously never listened to\u00a0<a title=\"Pirate Radio\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/tag\/pirate-radio\/\" target=\"_blank\">pirate radio<\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to English satirist &amp; humanist, Aldous Huxley, we live in the &#8220;Age of Noise.&#8221; When he wrote this, in 1945, he implicated radio: &#8220;The twentieth century is, among other things, the Age of Noise. Physical noise, mental noise and noise of desire &#8212; we hold history&#8217;s record for all of them. And no wonder; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[460,305,288],"tags":[1540,1539,1542,4094,1541],"class_list":["post-5104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-funny","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","tag-age-of-noise","tag-aldous-huxley","tag-history","tag-nostalgia","tag-radio-as-noise"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-1kk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53676,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/video-the-erres-ky-418-radio-set-wwii-era-assembly-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":5104,"position":0},"title":"Video: The Erres KY-418 radio set WWII era assembly line","author":"Thomas","date":"August 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adid, who writes: The Erres KY-418 Radio set assembly line. You must watch this: https:\/\/youtu.be\/p2feO-YxjGI Click here to view on YouTube. My heart goes to the poor guys who work under all that machinery noise with no ear plugs or with no mask when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1940s-radio-manufacturing-NL-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1940s-radio-manufacturing-NL-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1940s-radio-manufacturing-NL-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1940s-radio-manufacturing-NL-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19485,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/steve-points-out-the-itu-r-recommendations-on-radio-noise\/","url_meta":{"origin":5104,"position":1},"title":"Steve notes the ITU-R Recommendations on Radio Noise","author":"Thomas","date":"June 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Commenting on our post about the FCC Noise Floor Inquiry, SWLing Post contributor, Steve Yothment writes: One of the definitive documents on Radio Noise is the ITU-R Recommendation on Radio Noise, version P.373-12. This (latest) version is dated 07\/2015, so it's only a year old. You can download it [as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SX-99-Dial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/SX-99-Dial-1024x192.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/SX-99-Dial-1024x192.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/SX-99-Dial-1024x192.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19477,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/fcc-noise-floor-inquiry\/","url_meta":{"origin":5104,"position":2},"title":"FCC Noise Floor Inquiry","author":"Thomas","date":"June 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill, who shares this public notice from the FCC: Comment Deadline: August 11, 2016 The FCC\u2019s Technological Advisory Council (TAC), an advisory group to the FCC operating under the\u00a0Federal Advisory Committee Act, is investigating changes and trends to the radio spectrum noise floor to\u00a0determine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FCC-Public-Notice","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/FCC-Public-Notice.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/FCC-Public-Notice.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/FCC-Public-Notice.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/FCC-Public-Notice.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61984,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/am-band-rf-noise-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":5104,"position":3},"title":"AM Band RF Noise Study","author":"Thomas","date":"February 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who shares the following article from Radio World: NRSC Releases Details of AM Band RF Noise Study (Radio World) Noise levels remained consistent throughout different environments, even in downtown Baltimore The National Radio Systems Committee\u2019s AM Improvement Working Group has published\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Truck-Car-Radio-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Truck-Car-Radio-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Truck-Car-Radio-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Truck-Car-Radio-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Truck-Car-Radio-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11118,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/video-how-to-fight-radio-noise-in-urban-areas\/","url_meta":{"origin":5104,"position":4},"title":"Video: How to fight radio noise in urban areas","author":"Thomas","date":"October 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"London Shortwave, a regular contributor to the SWLing Post,\u00a0lives in London, England and copes with serious amounts of radio noise (QRM)\u00a0at his home. Unlike many urban radio listeners, the QRM didn't chase him away from the hobby, rather he looked at\u00a0it as a challenge. Besides taking his radio kit outdoors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;How To&quot;","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"London","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/London.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/London.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/London.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62311,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/radio-world-nrsc-studies-rf-noise-on-various-roadway-types\/","url_meta":{"origin":5104,"position":5},"title":"Radio World: NRSC Studies RF Noise on Various Roadway Types","author":"Thomas","date":"March 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dure, who shares the following item from Radio World: NRSC Studies RF Noise on Various Roadway Types (Radio World) Radio World asked Cris Alexander to read the report and comment The National Radio Systems Committee recently published the results of a study on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2025-03-09-at-07.14.04.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2025-03-09-at-07.14.04.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2025-03-09-at-07.14.04.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2025-03-09-at-07.14.04.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5104\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}