City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn [Anglais] [Broché]

Although I might be using some of the same cyber-services and electronic-tech-toys as William Mitchell, I had never fully considered the impact that some technological advances could have on life. "Cyborg Citizens," the third chapter of Mitchell's text is an excellent example. I appreciated this chapter not just because it was quite thorough, but because of its balanced construction - it discussed both sides of the issue fairly.

On one side of the coin, an individual could be extremely stoked with advances in personal, medical technology and what's possible in the future. Mitchell writes, "Anticipate the moment at which all your personal electronic devices can seamlessly be linked in a wireless bodynet that allows them to function as an integrated system and connects them to the worldwide digital network." Consider the possibilities with Mitchell. Medical files and profiles would become immediately available to physicians and medical practitioners. Through advances in telemedicine technology the family physician could make a virtual house visit or a surgeon could perform a complex operation from thousands of miles away. Yet, there is another side to coin. Consider the following. What if the tiny, injectable microchips used to track wildlife and pets were injected into us? Where would the line be drawn? How would this affect our lifestyles and our privacy? True, there are some valid points that could be raised in support of this practice, but would we really want to trackable? Would we really want to be cataloged? Do we really want or even need a device that will let others know where we are and possibly what we are doing at any given moment? Who would have access to this information?

Overall, I really enjoyed the "City of Bits." As I mentioned earlier, William Mitchell's text was extremely insightful and thought provoking for me. He does an excellent job of presenting a fairly balanced view. Mitchell sums it up well. "Cyberspace is opening up, and the ruse to claim and settle is on. We are entering an era of electronically extended bodies living at the intersection points of the physical and virtual worlds, of occupation and interaction through telepresence as well as through physical presence."

Although I might be using some of the same cyber-services and electronic-tech-toys as William Mitchell, I had never fully considered the impact that some technological advances could have on life. "Cyborg Citizens," the third chapter of Mitchell's text is an excellent example. I appreciated this chapter not just because it was quite thorough, but because of its balanced construction - it discussed both sides of the issue fairly.

On one side of the coin, an individual could be extremely stoked with advances in personal, medical technology and what's possible in the future. Mitchell writes, "Anticipate the moment at which all your personal electronic devices can seamlessly be linked in a wireless bodynet that allows them to function as an integrated system and connects them to the worldwide digital network." Consider the possibilities with Mitchell. Medical files and profiles would become immediately available to physicians and medical practitioners. Through advances in telemedicine technology the family physician could make a virtual house visit or a surgeon could perform a complex operation from thousands of miles away. Yet, there is another side to coin. Consider the following. What if the tiny, injectable microchips used to track wildlife and pets were injected into us? Where would the line be drawn? How would this affect our lifestyles and our privacy? True, there are some valid points that could be raised in support of this practice, but would we really want to trackable? Would we really want to be cataloged? Do we really want or even need a device that will let others know where we are and possibly what we are doing at any given moment? Who would have access to this information?

Overall, I really enjoyed the "City of Bits." As I mentioned earlier, William Mitchell's text was extremely insightful and thought provoking for me. He does an excellent job of presenting a fairly balanced view. Mitchell sums it up well. "Cyberspace is opening up, and the ruse to claim and settle is on. We are entering an era of electronically extended bodies living at the intersection points of the physical and virtual worlds, of occupation and interaction through telepresence as well as through physical presence."

"Space, Place, and the Infobahn: City of Bits" By William J. Mitchell is an excellent book that I would highly recommend to people who have very little or do not have any background in the notion of telecommunications. It explains thoroughly how some telecommunications systems operate. For example, Electronic Mail System, Internet, Bulletin Board Systems and so forth. William J. Mitchell also did a great job on contrasting and explaining both traditional and visional society in terms of conceptualization, humanity and social architecture infrastructure.

From the experience of history, most influential revolutions of our civilization were initiated by small, almost unnoticeable social phenomena, rather than radical movements at the foremost stage. For example, the Industrial Revolution (1700-1950) was started from the workers' creation of tools and machinery, and realization of advantages and effectiveness of those equipment. Small things like "pulling glass" (Mitchell 3) and "address" (Mitchell 8) are what William J. Mitchell stated as the indication of social and telecommunications evolution.

According to William J. Mitchell, it is important for us to have a minimum comprehension, as well as awareness of how the society is designed and constructed. The reason is the new technological era will bring tremendous impacts on our live, to be an "inhabitant, participant and spectator" (Mitchell 20) is the best way to get control of our own live and not to be dominated by others.

It is an interesting and innovative book to read if you are a stranger to the technology development, for example, electronic devices are all connected (Mitchell 29) and the problem of stocking piling and transporting will be minimized in the business of printing press (Mitchell 49-50). It will make a lot of sense if you have some kind knowledge or experience with computer, for example, bandwidth will determine the value of a network connection (Mitchell 17) and code is power in the future society (Mitchell 112). It will be less fascinating if you are already very updated with the telecommunications issues, however, the book still raise quite a few new visions and controversial topics that are worthwhile for us to consider and to discuss again and again. For example, the migration of social, economic and political activity (Mitchell 159) and the redesign of architecture and urban planning (Mitchell 49).

I am pleased to read a telecommunication-related book that is written from a different perspective, from the perspective of a contemporary architect. And I particularly like the use of "solid melts in air" (Mitchell 57) as a metaphor of tangible goods being digitized.