Right now I’m reading Paul D. Miller’s Rhythm Science, a rumination on the future of art, technology and digital culture, and a roadmap of their intersecting paths.
Here’s an example:
Future generations won’t have a “dependence” on technology. They will have technology as a core aspect of their existence – as much as the languages we speak, the air we breathe, and the food that we eat are all aspects of technology. In this context, rhythm science is a lot broader than someone just sitting down and using whatever computer is around to make sounds. The dependence is basically part of the process of being human. Whether it’s drum machines in the Bronx or aboriginals playing didgeridoo in the Australian desert, what holds them together is the machinery of culture as an organizing system.
That passage sort of reminds me of what I think whenever I'm on the subway surrounded by people plugged into their iPods, telltale white cords creeping out of their shirts and up towards their ears.
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