Radios in cars.
I am serious. People get in the car and the first thing they do is turn on the radio. The silence of a car ride is one of the few things people can do that leaves time for thinking things through.
Try it.
Just turn the radio off.
No, you are not going to turn into Plato (and who would want to?) but you will be surprised at how much thinking and pondering you will do.
Well, I do turn on Homer occasionally when I drive, audio tapes of Fagel’s translations. :)
And, I have read translations of everything extant that Plato ever wrote (a number of his dialogues many times, and most of Aristotle as well) and used to listen to Great Courses tapes about Plato’s major works when on the road. :)
But your point is well-taken. Quiet time in the car can be a wonderful chance to think deeply about things, although for me it is also simply a very deep and very rich sensory experience if I pay attention.
Thanks for the comment on car radios. Bur even more than that radios everywhere. Plus ipod/mp3 players, etc. People are afraid to be in the moment with their own thoughts and consciences. People do not realize how unnatural the whole thing is. It is all an escape from the responsibility and opportunity of being in the present. Most people don’t know how to handle that.
Interesting thought. I love to drive without the radio. It allows me to think.