Novelty is relative
This Steve Roach record contains very little conventional event density.
A TikTok feed contains enormous event density.
Yet after twenty minutes of TikTok, an individual new image may barely register.
After twenty minutes of drone music, a small harmonic overtone can suddenly feel significant.
That tells us something interesting:
Novelty is not solely a property of the stimulus. It is partly a property of the recent environment.
Bright white feels brighter after darkness.
Silence feels enormous after noise.
A blue square feels more saturated beside orange.
One unexpected chord feels astonishing after ten minutes of tonal stability.
Artists manipulate contrast.
But so does ordinary life.
Which means constantly maximizing stimulation may produce the strange outcome of making the world feel less stimulating.
Sometimes reducing input restores sensitivity.