Ambient commons: attention in the age of embodied information

Adding to the list of things to think about . . . This book is nothing if not thought provoking, and it appears this is one of the main intentions of the author. The term ‘Ambient Commons’ was not one I was familiar with before reading this book, even though many of the concepts it describes are ones that either myself or my colleagues deal with on a daily basis. Actually, this book is more than thought provoking. As well as making me very reflective, it also made me very conscious of my surroundings. I read some of the book on the train and was briefly quite annoyed when one of the trains did not offer access to wifi. I wondered at what point I had become so reliant on being connected that an hour off line left me flailing (at least briefly, then I kept reading instead). While your mind is encouraged to wander during each chapter, here is a succinct tabular summary provided at the end of each chapter, which serves to refocus the consciousness before you embark on another mental meander. The summaries outline the key idea, a counterargument, key terms, what has changed, the context for change, the related field and suggests a topic for open debate. The book is presented in two parts. The first outlines some key concepts (such as ambient, information, attention, embodiment and fixity), which are then built upon in the second part, which outlines how some of these aspects may appear in our surroundings. I confess that I am a bookworm, so I did appreciate the regular reference (and perhaps self-promotion?) to the importance of books amongst all the other, ever-changing, information sources. ‘To go back to a world without pervasive computing may be no more possible than going back to life before, say, electric lighting’ (16). Much of the thoughts in this book reaffirm two key things I try to do: (1) read books, real ones, often, and (2) find a holiday destination without wifi (or just leave the smart phone/tablet at home). If McCullough is right, this will not completely cut me off from the constant information stream, but it will give me time to reboot, take in other elements of the surroundings and build up some spare capacity (thinking about a time before electric lighting, I might even light a couple of candles). McCullough also talks about ‘Silent Commons’ and that ‘silence remains necessary for individual and especially cultural sanity’ (287). There is a good consideration of the need for enough information, but that too much can be very bad for our health and also the importance of appreciating the quality and reliability of the information and information source. I am not sure that I identify or associate with some of the examples used, but I do still appreciate the messages for the most part,