Group Three.

“We are losing our listening,” says Julian Treasure, a British sound expert.

He doesn’t mean those of us who can hear are losing the ability. In his July 2011 TED Talk, “Five ways to listen better,” Treasure defines listening as “making meaning from sound.” To him, “listening” is a synonym for “paying attention.” It’s this construction of meaningful understanding from meaningless building blocks—hearing a melody in the cacophony—which Treasure warns is at risk in our noisy, inattentive modern world.

To Treasure, the way we listen is important. Our brains use extraordinary techniques, such as pattern recognition and differencing, to pick out what’s relevant from the noise. More interesting, however, are the filters they use—culture, language, values, beliefs and even intentions—in choosing what to “listen” to, verbal or otherwise. Why are these filters important? As Treasure says, “they actually create our reality.” They determine what we pay attention to and what we discard. Our cultural background and values can determine what we listen to and understand.

But why, then, is our listening at risk? First, methods of recording (writing, audio and video recording) have diminished its very importance. As Treasure puts it, “the premium on accurate and careful listening has simply disappeared.” When you can turn to Google for an instant answer, what need do you have for careful listening? Technology has turned what was once a culture of conversation into a jumble of “personal broadcasting” bubbles. When everyone has his headphones on, can't look up from his cell phone, or is glued to the TV or computer or iPad, “nobody’s listening to anybody.” The media have to sensationalize every story just to grab our attention, and “conversations” are reduced to sound bites and 140-character exclamations. What Treasure laments, then, is our inability to appreciate nuance—the subtleties of meaningful interaction. “Conscious listening,” says Treasure, “creates understanding.”

Without a doubt, this intellectual detachment goes far beyond aural perception; the trappings of modernity can isolate us vocally and otherwise. As we well know, and as Treasure notes, the cacophony of the modern world is not only auditory, but also visual. Even our brains function differently under the flashing lights of the modern world—ever-increasing numbers of ADHD-diagnosed children are a testament to that.

More than anything, it is sobering to imagine the effect our collective loss of metaphorical "listening" could have on international communication. As Treasure makes clear, we spend 60% of our communication time listening. Cultural and social filters already make communication between nations difficult; if we can’t pay attention to one another, how can we expect to communicate at all? As Treasure puts it, “A world where we don’t listen to each other at all is a very scary place indeed.”

(See video above. Captions available in 30 languages.)