[challenger-derp]

The preference for silence may not be universal. John Von Neumann, a highly regarded scientist, appears to prefer noisy environments according to his Wikipedia entry [1]:

In Princeton, he [John Von Neumann] received complaints for regularly playing extremely loud German march music on his phonograph, which distracted those in neighboring offices, including Albert Einstein, from their work. Von Neumann did some of his best work in noisy, chaotic environments, and once admonished his wife for preparing a quiet study for him to work in. He never used it, preferring the couple's living room with its television playing loudly.

References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann