There Is “Noise,” and Noise

What is noise? Common sense tells us it is a disturbance, an invasion of our perceptual space, a nuisance. But this is only part of a more complex story that the sciences and modern technologies might help us unravel. ‘Noise’ has a contextual meaning, but it also points at something ‘in nature’ (or in society)—and something that might also have a function and/or beneficial effects. In this article I show that what is categorized as ‘noise’ is there not necessarily to be removed or to be dispensed with, but to be used and taken advantage of.¹