a shortened version of the following review:
'The internet and everyone' by john chris jones published by ellipsis isbn 1 899858 20 2
By: Denis O'Brien, Associate Lecturer in Creativity, Innovation and Change at the Open University Business School.
Lisa said: 'would you write a review?' Clare said 'how long does it have to be?' I said ' 700 words'.
This is ... a review of 'a deliberately unfinished book that is certainly complete in its incompleteness'. The book does not give a clear and grand panorama to see, accept and reject jcj's view of what the internet is. But its unfinished form is the meaning, the message.
No medium will ever exist as a perfect channel for constructive thought to express itself. Jcj proposed test cities in 1967 and radio simplicity in 86 - two 'solutions' to liberate the magician, artist, scientist, politician, media star and enable them to share wisdom, power and prestige. Up to the internet, centrality ruled ok and organisational inertia kept it that way. Now there is a medium for the voice of reason, the voice of imagination. Now, we (whoever they are) have gained collective control of the artificial evolution of our inventive spirits.
Curiously, although the word 'curious' appears on page 14 and 326 it does not appear in the excellent index. In jcj's world 'curiosity' does not exist - at least my understanding of the word - he uses chance, the roulette wheel, the random number generator, to absolve himself from professional prompting.
Wonderfully, though, this is a book where both forms of curiosity can exist side by side. For within seconds of starting to read any page you will find yourself pressing the fast forward button in your eyes to the juicy bit of the 'solution' or the 'fast rewind' to the dilemma / the question that was the trigger for the writing itself. My highlighter is metaphorically empty because this small bible shaped book is so full of insights.
Will you like this book? I don't know - not knowing is what drives the
internet. Not knowing drives jcj: his web site is
I heard cj at the Design Policy conference in 1982 (which was brilliantly organised by the now deceased Richard Langdon) perform his drama on the 'future of planning'. Here UTOPIA, the voice of perfection, talks to NUMEROSO, the voice of us all. And from then on, I have wondered and admired him as the greatest original thinker I have come across. Now EDWINA MARE the voice of reason and WILLIAM DRAGON the voice of imagination have joined the play. (He is a rabbit - I am a goat: and I defy you to work out what that means!!).
My book is defaced by my scrawl and highlighting. jcj is so provocative that although he does not have an entry for 'railing' ( I am writing this on the balcony of an apartment at the Lew Hoads tennis club in Mijas, Southern Spain) it does have something about railways on page 121 and ... you are on Eurostar thinking about Internet 2 a place where we are free to change the form of life as we live it .... too and then .... let 'words find new meanings'. Jcj recommends we visit www.activeworlds.com for the concept come partially true.
The internet is a place for potential, a place where we can recover joy in what it is to be. By keeping the centre empty we can unclench. We can dance in a world of self-determination and encouragement,
With this book by your side, you are in a world beyond title and beyond wheels. And you are beyond boredom. This is a seminal book that will be seen as written on the cusp of the biggest revolution to hit the world since the book. It is so full of ideas, your brain aches with enquiry fatigue. You are inside jcj's head, wondering what is going on, trying to make sense of his imaginary world. The book is a detective story where all the clues are there but you have to work hard to solve each riddle: great fun. Visit his recommended web sites and enjoy. The book is a web world of it's own and is so provocative it could stimulate a community of its own. One word of advice, buy the book at a bookshop because it won't fit through any letter box.
This book will stay by my side for as long as I stay curious. Buy it: Enjoy.
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