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"In 2011, the Finnish Tourist Board released a series of photographs of lone figures in the wilderness, with the caption "Silence, Please." An international "country branding" consultant, Simon Anholt, proposed the playful tagline "No talking, but action." And a Finnish watch company, Rönkkö, launched its own new slogan: "Handmade in Finnish silence.""

"Without stimulation and distraction, your brain need not focus and goes into a default mode of sorts. That doesn't mean it completely turns off. Quite the opposite. Your brain at rest will sort and gather information. This is where the self-reflection comes in.   Auditory stimulation forces your brain to process sound and listen to what's going on around you. Without that external noise, your brain is forced to listen to what's going on inside of it."

"The following entries describe and illustrate some of Deutsch's illusions of music and speech. Many of them show that people can differ strikingly in the way they hear very simple musical patterns. These disagreements do not reflect variations in musical ability or training. Even the finest musicians, on listening to the stereo illusions described here, may disagree completely as to whether a high tone is being played to their right ear or to their left. And the most expert musicians, on listening to the tritone paradox, can engage in long arguments as to whether a pattern of two tones is moving up or down in pitch. "

"An Inquiry Concerning the Possibilities and Vagaries of Listening to Music while Sleeping - with Testimonial Consideration by Composers and Practitioners in the Field"

"They feature slime, crackling plastic, whispering, scratching, brushing and the thrumming of exquisitely groomed fingernails. They are, depending on whom you talk to, either the antidote to anxiety or a wellspring of annoyance. But might they also be art?"

"Jack Dutton meets those with the condition and the researchers who study them. Might it have benefits, and could it even be taught?"