At the same time as Monet and Seurat and 
Rouault were dimming the visual parameters of 
art in order to achieve maximal audience 
participation, the symbolists were demonstrating 
the superiority of suggestion over statement in 
poetry. The same principle obtains on the 
telephone as compared with radio. The auditory 
image of the telephone is of low definition. It 
elicits maximal attention and cannot be used as 
background. All the senses rally to strengthen the 
weak sound of the phone. We even feel the need 
to be kinetically involved via doodling or pacing. 
And whereas we complete the strong auditory 
image of radio by visualizing, we only slightly