In the aforementioned Berlin: City of Stones, there's a lovely take on how the density of urban existance works over time.
Daunted, upon arrival:
"I am anxious and excited as we emerge from the station, unable to recall the last time I felt this way. Perhaps never. It is, after all, a completely new experience. Into the flow of it as into a river. Through warring currents of flesh and smell: cigars and sausage, lavender and roses, the sourness of neglect. I cannot look and I cannot stop looking. Through the rush of traffic, I hear music - is it Chopin? - as if being played deep underwater. I am losing myself" becoming within months:
"When I round the first corner, pass out of sight of Herr W., it's as if the city enfolds me. My fear of setting out in the morning has given way to a sense of relief. Gradually, the sense of being overwhelmed has become more like that of being absorbed, and instead of losing myself, I feel a part of something larger, my life like a thread, unspooling and intertwining with those I pass on the street. Immigrant housewives, beggars, and Jews; they could not be more different from me, but I imagine a higher force that binds us into a greater, unified whole. It's a pleasing thought."I often get accused of making tenuous connections between RL and virtual spaces so here's another one. Could informational environments aspire to this form of learning, assimilation, and sense of becoming, belonging? Where the density of information actually evolves from a threatening oppression into an enriching, enjoyable, enlightening form? At present, designers often seem afraid of density, despite the fact that the near-vernacular design of Yahoo et al are leading user behaviour by default into a world of richly-linked complexity. Or perhaps their supremely backgrounded design enables this relatively quick assimilation of environment? Maybe Yahoo is formally closer to densely-packed city streets (with some of the benefits and drawbacks that might entail) than sites more self-consciously designed to evoke the city (good as they are)? Once you know a city's streets, focus shifts between narrow and wide, zooming in and out of detail - you see what you need to see, peripheral vision and subconscious naturally dealing with the sensory bombardment, drifting between supremely goal-directed behaviour, and, well, day-dreaming. Maybe users are already using Yahoo et al on that level?
