--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The overwhelming noise we live with has…" description: "\"“The overwhelming noise we live with has made a fundamental pleasure like sex somehow less exciting, less satisfying, than it was for our libidinous fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has_1631363.jpg" --- # The overwhelming noise we live with has made a fundamental… ![“The overwhelming noise we live with has made a fundamental pleasure like sex somehow less exciting, less satisfying, than it was for our libidinous forefathers and mothers. It seems to me that for sex and other pleasures to be enjoyed to the fullest, a certain contemplative quality to life must be…” quote by Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has_1631363.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has_1631363.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has_1631363.jpg) > ““The overwhelming noise we live with has made a fundamental pleasure like sex somehow less exciting, less satisfying, than it was for our libidinous forefathers and mothers. It seems to me that for sex and other pleasures to be enjoyed to the fullest, a certain contemplative quality to life must be present. If you doubt this imagine yourself for a moment having sex. Now imagine you wished to increase the pleasure you were feeling, feel it more intensely. What might you do? Well one of the things you'd probably do is close your eyes. What this does of course is shut out other stimuli. The visual quiet increases your sensual enjoyment and you concentrate more fully on the pleasure. The same is true for the removal of auditory noise as well. Well my feeling is that the average person has a much harder time doing this today than they would have decades ago. Today you close your eyes and shut off Television but the noise persists. It's part of our fabric now, our biology, and all other pleasures including sex are diminished as a result. We don't notice this derogation by the way and sex still feels great, don't get me wrong, but I think the difference is there nonetheless. Like the difference between seeing breasts when you're thirty as opposed to when you were thirteen.”” [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Constant background noise reduces our ability to fully enjoy sensory pleasures like sex **In simple terms:** Noise dulls pleasure Key Takeaway Reduce distractions for deeper enjoyment Themes pleasure distraction mindfulness Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - intimacy - meditation - media consumption - environment design Key Concepts Sensory perception cognitive load Questions to Reflect On - What simple steps can you take to quiet your environment? - How does reducing noise change your experience of pleasure? A Different Perspective Complete silence is unrealistic in modern life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Average person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-person/) [Close your eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-your-eyes/) [Having sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-sex/) [Hedonism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonism/) [Increase Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase-pleasure-487513/) [Increases Sensual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increases-sensual-487514/) [Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernity/) [Noise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noise/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Quiet Increases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-increases-487516/) [Saturation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saturation/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sex Diminished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-diminished-487515/) [Sex Pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-pleasures-487517/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Stimulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stimulation/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) ## Related quotes > [Human beings have neither kindness, nor faith, nor charity beyond what serves to increase the pleasure of the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/human-beings-have-neither-kindness-nor-faith-nor-charity-beyond-what/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [ I think for a lot of people, it's just where their saturation point was. 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The benefit of this is I get to read across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-pardlo/on-top-of-whatever-else-i-m-doing-i-m-usually-teaching-some-form-of/) [Gregory Pardlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-pardlo/) ## More by Sergio De La Pava > [“The relevant question is not whether back then a few extraordinary individuals could overcome a system strongly weighted against them or whether today an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-relevant-question-is-not-whether-back-then-a-few-extraordinary/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“Undone by your own protective measures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/undone-by-your-own-protective-measures/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“Let us continue to hone and hone the methods by which man hangs his fellow man and be done, once and for all, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/let-us-continue-to-hone-and-hone-the-methods-by-which-man-hangs-his/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“The real problem is I'm greedy. 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The overwhelming majority of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/it-s-hard-to-imagine-any-group-of-people-being-held-in-less-esteem/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“Look, people need to conform the external reality they face daily with this subjective feeling they likewise experience constantly. To do this they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/look-people-need-to-conform-the-external-reality-they-face-daily-with/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [Vote? What's so fun about voting? You should never vote, everyone knows that. If you vote and your guy wins you can't later complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/vote-what-s-so-fun-about-voting-you-should-never-vote-everyone-knows/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [There's a manner of speaking you use while lawyering. A manner as affected and rife with artifice as your average campaign speech, with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/there-s-a-manner-of-speaking-you-use-while-lawyering-a-manner-as/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“And if you learn only one thing from the ensuing maybe let it be this: the police were not merely interested observers who occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/and-if-you-learn-only-one-thing-from-the-ensuing-maybe-let-it-be-this/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“But insensate Time is nothing if not cruel and heartless. It corrodes then destroys, so that the man you literally and figuratively looked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/but-insensate-time-is-nothing-if-not-cruel-and-heartless-it-corrodes/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“I know this is going to sound weird but this kind of love is almost too intense. It hurts a bit. It feels almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/i-know-this-is-going-to-sound-weird-but-this-kind-of-love-is-almost/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“Appeal. Guy's like you get all excited about the appeal. Don't you see that I view the very existence of an appeal as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/appeal-guy-s-like-you-get-all-excited-about-the-appeal-don-t-you-see/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“And I don't give a cow's dick what Hume said, science rules!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/and-i-don-t-give-a-cow-s-dick-what-hume-said-science-rules/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“How do we not have money? This is a country of organizations. Everywhere you look people are organizing themselves into groups, one joining many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/how-do-we-not-have-money-this-is-a-country-of-organizations/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) [Explore all 27 Sergio De La Pava quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) ## More Average person quotes > [“She'd always been a little excitable, a little more passionate about books than your average person, but she was supposed to be -- she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beth-durst/she-d-always-been-a-little-excitable-a-little-more-passionate-about/) [Sarah Beth Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beth-durst/) > [I feel like what motivates me is what would motivate the regular average person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/i-feel-like-what-motivates-me-is-what-would-motivate-the-regular/) [Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/) > [We're trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-silbermann/we-re-trying-to-do-something-so-that-when-the-average-person-uses/) [Ben Silbermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-silbermann/) > [My dad was not a footballer. He wasn't anything remotely what the average person would say was a role model - but in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-deeney/my-dad-was-not-a-footballer-he-wasn-t-anything-remotely-what-the/) [Troy Deeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-deeney/) > [The harsh truth is that Trump is a living co-morbidity, he's over 70, out of shape, eats terribly and doesn't believe in science. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/the-harsh-truth-is-that-trump-is-a-living-co-morbidity-he-s-over-70/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [The average person would have quit at the first failure. 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What else have we to go by? How else can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-culkin-banning/i-get-a-little-angry-about-this-highhanded-scrapping-of-the-look-of/) [Margaret Culkin Banning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-culkin-banning/) > [If ergonomists have their way, future products won't be built for some hypothetical average person but will conform to the biomechanical needs of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/if-ergonomists-have-their-way-future-products-won-t-be-built-for-some/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [My mother got sick when I was rich. And my mother, you know … I don’t really want to get into it, but my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/my-mother-got-sick-when-i-was-rich-and-my-mother-you-know-i-don-t/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [To measure your needs by that which is projected via mass media is a mistake that has no mercy. 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Most of them are made for personal satisfaction, to impress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-day/some-of-the-downbeat-pictures-in-my-opinion-should-never-be-made-at/) [Doris Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-day/) [Browse all 443 Average person quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-person/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The overwhelming noise we live with has made a fundamental pleasure like sex somehow less exciting, less satisfying, than it was for our libidinous forefathers and mothers. It seems to me that for sex and other pleasures to be enjoyed to the fullest, a certain contemplative quality to life must be present. If you doubt this imagine yourself for a moment having sex. Now imagine you wished to increase the pleasure you were feeling, feel it more intensely. What might you do? Well one of the things you'd probably do is close your eyes. What this does of course is shut out other stimuli. The visual quiet increases your sensual enjoyment and you concentrate more fully on the pleasure. The same is true for the removal of auditory noise as well. Well my feeling is that the average person has a much harder time doing this today than they would have decades ago. Today you close your eyes and shut off Television but the noise persists. It's part of our fabric now, our biology, and all other pleasures including sex are diminished as a result. We don't notice this derogation by the way and sex still feels great, don't get me wrong, but I think the difference is there nonetheless. Like the difference between seeing breasts when you're thirty as opposed to when you were thirteen.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sergio De La Pava" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has-made-a-fundamental-pleasure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Average person" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has-made-a-fundamental-pleasure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has_1631363.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has_1631363.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has_1631363.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The overwhelming noise we live with has made a fundamental pleasure like sex somehow less exciting, less…” — Sergio De La Pava", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sergio De La Pava", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The overwhelming noise we live with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has-made-a-fundamental-pleasure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has-made-a-fundamental-pleasure/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```