Noise Quote by Jacques Attali
““A network can be destroyed by noises that attack and transform it, if the codes in place are unable to normalize and repress them. Although the new order is not contained in the structure of the old, it is nonetheless not a product of chance. It is created by the substitution of new differences for the old differences. Noise is the source of these mutations in the structuring codes. For despite the death it contains, noise carries order within itself; it carries new information. This may seem strange. But noise does in fact create a meaning: first, because the interruption of a message signifies the interdiction of the transmitted meaning, signifies censorship and rarity; and second, because the very absence of meaning in pure noise or in the meaningless repetition of a message, by unchanneling auditory sensations, frees the listener’s imagination. The absence of meaning is in this case the presence of all meanings, absolute ambiguity, a construction outside meaning. The presence of noise makes sense, makes meaning. It makes possible the creation of a new order on another level of organization, of a new code in another network.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Noise: The Political Economy of Music by Jacques Attali, 1985
Noise disrupts existing codes, but also generates new structures and meanings, leading to emergent order beyond the original system.
In simple terms: Noise breaks old patterns and creates new possibilities.
Embrace disruption as a source of innovation.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- artistic experimentation
- technological design
- cultural analysis
- communication strategy
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we harness noise without losing control?
- What safeguards preserve meaning amid disruption?
Noise can overwhelm systems if not managed, leading to loss of coherence.