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Pleasantly Imperfect
Life is messy, pleasantly imperfect.
Milk goes sour. Shoe laces come undone. Objects are forgotten. Luggage is lost (thanks FinnAir). Packages don't turn up (thanks DHL, again). A leaking pen. No change for the vending machine. The kid on the bus just won't stop crying. The chewing gum stuck to your new coat. The man in the next urinal unable to aim straight (OK admittedly sometimes it edges to being impleasantly imperfect).
Imperfection is human. Predictability is boring.
I recall a conversation with Adam Greenfield about plausible deniability when it comes to the design of new products and systems. It may be possible to know where someone is 100% of the time for example through presence and GPS but is it desirable? Throw in the possibility of a 1% chance of error and all of a sudden there are many more opportunities for fun for getting away with, well, what-ever you want to get away with.
Ubicomp is coming to Tokyo later this month - I wonder what the delegates will make of our pleasantly imperfect future?
Writing from Tokyo | September 4, 2005 | Permalink
Comments
Ubicomp is coming to Tokyo, and so am I - one step ahead of the total collapse of American society, it would seem. I'll let you know how Tokyo's imperfection looks by comparison after I've reacquainted m'self with the old town. (We'll compare notes over beer and edamame, I trust.)
By the way, is that the tunnel under Roppongi-dori right about in front of Nobu?
Posted by: AG at September 4, 2005 3:14 PM
So it took a conference to bring you back :)
I'll be popping in and out of the conference over the 4 days so catch you then.
Posted by: Jan at September 4, 2005 7:27 PM