(no subject)

[inahandbasket]

Some jackass is suing apple because the iPod could cause hearing loss.
Personal responsibility has gone the way of the dodo.

an old favorite bash.org quote:

(xterm) The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

Comments

DUH!

[ex-cayetana730.livejournal.com]

They had a lengthy discussion about this on NPR. The only reason the iPod causes hearing loss is because the ear buds allow in a lot of extra outside noise, so users turn the volume way up to hear the music, which damages hearing. They suggested people use headphones that cover the ears so they wouldn't be tempted to turn the volume up so high.

The fact that they had to explain this concept is very sad.

[enmascarado.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have a problem if lawsuits caused manufacturers to stop making headphones, causing people to reconnect with the world around them.

[djluminal.livejournal.com]

i would. some of us need headphones to do our jobs / hobbies! :)

if people would cough up the money for GOOD headphones instead of using the shitty ones that sound awful and fuck up your hearing, everybody would be a lot happier...

[enmascarado.livejournal.com]

obviously I was serious.

If everybody paid for high end noise cancelling headphones, people would only be even more oblivious to the world around them. I understand the utility of headphones when working sound for a production or listening to music while your roommates are asleep. It's the people who don't take the buds out of their ears (or the speakers out of their heads) that I question. The ones that you have to forcefully move out of your way because they don't hear the "excuse me" you've said three times and shouted twice.

Several months ago I challenged my friends list to forego headphones for a week and not one did. Too busy building our own bubbles.

[inahandbasket]

somehow i missed that challenge. I would have done it no prob.
I often go months without using headphones. ^_^

[enmascarado.livejournal.com]

IIRC a couple of people said something to the effect of "I already never use them", so that may have been you. Hard to remember a challenge that doesn't apply to you.

I hate using headphones myself. The streets make their own music.

[axessdenyd.livejournal.com]

The streets make their own music.

But...it's BAD music.

I don't really do headphones much anyway.

...or walk outside.

[enmascarado.livejournal.com]

it's the song of the world you live in. Good or bad is just what you make of it.

[axessdenyd.livejournal.com]

Try and be more objective. ;-)

[djluminal.livejournal.com]

Please don't misunderstand me, i agree with your assertions above... i don't think people should be walking around in public with headphones on. it does isolate you from your surroundings, often dangerously and sociopathically so... making you not only an obstacle but occasionally even a target!

That said, it bears explanation that I wasn't really talking about the "perpetually plugged-in pod people", i was talking about the general ignorance of the music-listening public at large regarding the ill psychological and physiological effects of Bad Audio.

Listening to overly-compressed (in both the data and dynamics senses of the term) audio is stressful and fatiguing to your ears (and consequently the rest of your body), and doing so through a pair of poor-quality transducers (be they speakers, headphones, or earbuds) can compound the problem. Not only are you damaging your hearing, you're throwing your whole body out of whack.

I am simply advocating that people take better care of their ears (and subsequently their holistic selves).

[enmascarado.livejournal.com]

I dig what you're saying, but if the IPod is already $189 for the low end model (we'll ignore the shuffle), going from ear buds to actual headphones would pump the price up to $300. The ear-buds, while not ideal, only become a problem with frequent, loud usage. My Modest Proposal is that people use them less. It's one of those things like "people driving less would reduce oil consumption" that are great concepts but poor policy suggestions. Of course, you could charge a gasoline tax, but a headphone tax wouldn't really have the same effect.

[squidia.livejournal.com]

"Not only are you damaging your hearing, you're throwing your whole body out of whack."

you are soooo right! and you actually know what you're talking about, so that helps make your statement cooler. i've definitely noticed that after just a couple hours in the recording studio (or anywhere with sustained, high volume -- be it from a live instrument, studio monitor, bar, noisy train, whatever), i feel like i need absolute silence for a while or my head will explode. I spent 6.5 hours playing/recording pretty much non-stop with a Steinway grand yesterday, and even that bad mother with her glorious wide-ranging grand piano sound had my ears tired after 6.5 hours...

[countlibras.livejournal.com]

The stupidity hurts my head. So much.

[jjjiii]

My reaction:

[foleyartist1.livejournal.com]

Personal responsibility has gone the way of the dodo.

The first time I read this I read it as "gone the way of the dildo."

I was really trying very hard to figure out exactly what that would mean, but there were too many possibilities... @_@

Just thought I'd share.