Is Music A Waste Of Time?

Music makes people happy. But is everything that makes you happy good for you? Music makes people happy. No one can argue that. But is everything that makes you happy good for you? Probably not. Scott Weiland, the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, was at my house not too long ago.  He is famous for saying he LOVES heroin.Scott explained, "(Heroin) took me to where I'd always dreamed of going. I can't name the place, but I can say that I was undisturbed and unafraid, a free-floating man in a space without demons and doubts."The Grand Theory Of Everything says that the ultimate step in your life must be to achieve happiness.  Heroin Happiness...But it can't be any old type of happiness. It can't be "Heroin Happiness" like Scott Weiland found. That type of happiness is one step forward, 10 steps back. You want quality happiness.In the modern world you can't go far without hearing music. 13 Years Of Music...One study says that you will listen to about 13 years' worth of music before you die.That's a hell of an investment of time and energy. Some scientists says music is a complete waste of time.The Harvard Professor, Steven Pinker says in "The Language Instinct":"As far as biological cause and effect are concerned, music is useless. Music appears to be... a cocktail of recreational drugs that we ingest through the ear to stimulate a mass of pleasure circuits at once... Music could vanish from our species and the rest of our lifestyle would be virtually unchanged."Strong words.I know many people who love music and would argue to the death that Pinker is wrong.For today's book of the day I read the fascinating "This is Your Brain On Music" by Daniel Levitin. Levitin says that the scientists like Pinker have it all wrong.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.