A panel of students at one university was discussing what it's like to be a young person today. They talked of many things - their work, their fears, their ambitions. And then the moderator asked them: "What does it take to get your attention?" One young man was very direct: "Bright and loud," he said. "It's the kind of world we live in, and in that kind of world, that's what it takes."

Bright and loud. Think about that response. It rules out a lot of things, doesn't it? He doesn't notice the different songs of the b…