Critical Reading For Exams / Short Reading Comprehension 12

This aversion to noise I should explain as follows: If you cut up a large diamond into little bits, it will entirely  lose the value it had as a whole; and an army divided up into small bodies of soldiers, loses all its strength. So a  great intellect sinks to the level of an ordinary one; as soon as it is interrupted and disturbed, its attention distracted  and drawn from the matter in hand; for its superiority depends upon its power of concentration—of bringing all its  strength to bear upon one theme, in the same way as a concave mirror collects into one point all the rays of light  that strike upon it. Noisy interruption is a hindrance to concentration. That is why distinguished minds have always  shown such an extreme dislike to disturbance in any form, as something that breaks in upon and distracts their  thoughts. Above all have they been averse to that violent interruption that comes from noise. Ordinary people are  not much put out by anything of the sort. The most sensible and intelligent of all nations in Europe lays down the  rule, Never Interrupt! as the eleventh commandment. Noise is the most impertinent of all forms of interruption. It  is not only an interruption, but also a disruption of thought. Of course, where there is nothing to interrupt, noise  will not be so particularly painful. Occasionally, it happens that some slight but constant noise continues to bother  and distract me for a time before I become distinctly conscious of it. All I feel is a steady increase in the labor of  thinking—just as though I were trying to walk with a weight on my foot. At last I find out what it is.