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In 1954, when I went to Europe,
I no sooner arrived in Paris than I
noticed that the city was covered with
posters publicizing a mushroom exhibition
that was being held in the Botanical Gardens.
That was all I needed.
Off I went. When I arrived,
I found myself in a large room filled
with many tables upon which were displayed
many species of fungi. On the
hour from a large centrally-placed
loudspeaker a recorded lecture on the
deadly poisonous amanitas was delivered.
During this lecture, nobody in
the hall moved or spoke. Each
person’s attention was, so to speak,
riveted to the information being
given. A week later, I
was in Cologne in Germany attending a
concert of electronic music. There
was also an audience and a large
loudspeaker. However, many
in the audience were dozing off, and
some were talking to their neighbors.
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