Books

Henry, W.A. (1995). In Defense of Elitism. Anchor Publisher.

Postman, Neil. (1986). Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Viking Press.

Ugresic, Dubravka. (2004). Thank You For Not Reading. Dalkey Archive.

Furedi, Frank. (2004). Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone?: Confronting Twenty-First Century Philistinism (Continuum International Publishing Group).

News

Piped music on the "London Eye" has been dropped after complaints from customers.

The Good Food Guide 2002 reports that muzak is among diners top ten hates.

The Holyhead-Dublin crossing by Irish Ferries Swift is now muzak-free because of the many complaints about the racket from the many speakers. People said that they wanted to relax on the crossing but were unable to do so because of the noise. A spokesman for Irish Ferries said that they had noticed a level of discontent regarding the background music on board the ship so they had turned it off.

Research at Florida Atlantic University examined how fast 45 students wrote essays with and without music playing in the background. It found that playing music slowed students down by 60 words a minute - a significant reduction.

An Austrian study, and one in the US, showed that noise, even at levels too low to damage hearing, causes stress in children. Children living in relatively noisy areas have raised blood pressure, heart rates, and increased levels of stress hormones.