Painting the Silence

Neil McCormick, colomnist for the British broadsheet, The Telegraph, has this to say regarding the idea that we are reaching a saturation point due to the accessibility of music. He builds on theorist Dr. Steven Pinker’s description of music as “auditory cheesecake.”

“Throughout human history, the sugar and fat (both energy-rich foods) which are the main ingredients of cheesecake were scarce, so a strong desire to eat them evolved. As refined sugar became abundant in the modern age, so obesity and other health-related issues arose. If music also evolved in a period of relative scarcity, what happens when it is so abundant it sates appetites beyond our needs?”