The Sign

Life has become very noisy in the twenty-first century. . . . If you go camping, somebody with a stereo system will move in next to you. Go for a hike in the woods, and you can hear the sounds of chainsaws or four-wheelers in the distance. Walk on the beach, and you can still hear airplanes passing overhead. There's no escaping the noise. . . .

We have come to think of relentless activity as noble. . . . Even though we secretly resent working every spare minute of every day, we actually feel...