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Image: Clayton Shonkwiler

While discussing what would or would not be permitted in their Kallipolis, the hypothetical philosopher’s state, Plato and Socrates decided that music should for the most part be banished altogether. Today, music can accompany you at every single moment of your life: YouTube is full of classical concerts and playlists for sleeping, running, waking up, falling asleep; and for your baby, dog, cat, and reptile.This week, I wanted to see if we could prove the old Greeks wrong, and show that music has a role to play in study. There’s enough “classical music for studying” playlists online to sink a penteconter, so I picked one at random and got to work. The following is an account of my experience.


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