Many pundits (read 'luddites') fear that the proliferation of iPod toting folks is isolating people from group experiences that define our culture as a whole. Katherine Mangu-Ward, writing for Reason Magazine, argues that this fear has been around since the dawn of the Walkman, and we seem to be doing ok. The iPod's ability to isolate people isn't a drawback, but rather a feature. People crave to have their own little musical universe in which to retreat from the increasingly noisy work a day world.