Our title is (currently) "A room so quiet, no one can spend more than 45 minutes in it", and the Times Herald headline is even more specific: "A room so quiet no one can stand it for more than 45 minutes."
I'm wondering what it is they 'can't stand.' The article text is pretty vague.
'“Your eyes don’t feel as comfortable in this room,” Orfield pointed out, adding that some visitors have had hallucinations during or after a spell in there. “You lose your touchstones.”
Small wonder, then, that even Orfield spends no more than a half-hour at a time in the 99.99 percent soundproof anechoic chamber, and no one has lasted in there for more than 45 minutes.'
It doesn't match either my experience or my expectation, which is why I asked about it above. If someone had a silent computer to code on in there, could they crank out code for a couple of hours without nuisance, or would something bother them? If the latter, then what exactly would bother them?
> If someone had a silent computer to code on in there, could they crank out code for a couple of hours without nuisance, or would something bother them? If the latter, then what exactly would bother them?
First of all, I'm seriously disappointed I can't test this because no computer is quiet enough. Second of all, I can't stand working in sound-proofed rooms. I much prefer working in an environment with (non-distracting) ambient sounds.
Look, the "45 minutes" thing is total clickbait. I've been in an anechoic chamber and it is a little disconcerting and weird to suddenly find yourself hearing nothing at all. I only spent a few minutes in there, and it's not uncomfortable at first, but it feels good to get out. It's basically just a feeling of disorientation.
But I have no doubt that, properly motivated, you could easily spend an hour in there. Hell, if I had access to one I'd go do it right now just for dumb internet bragging rights.
I've been in an anechoic chamber ... and it's not uncomfortable at first, but it feels good to get out
Not all anechoic chambers are equal, and not all anechoic chambers are necessarily quiet - they're only as quiet as they need to be for whatever it's designed to test (an anechoic chamber designed to test ICE equipment might have background noise levels in the 40-50 dBA range), so be careful about extrapolating your experience to the quietest anechoic chamber in the world.
I think zipdog hit it on the head, and it's the PR-spin that turns it into seeming untested, unproven "no one can stand" bit.
Have they had open competitions? I feel relatively certain that people would endure in there effectively indefinitely: People can tolerate remarkable things.
