Delayed Response: The Art of Waiting from the Ancient to the Instant

the book is good. but over long parts of it one gets the impression of reading some publication written with the intent of publishing something... anything...there are quite good passages. but for about the half of the text it loses focus, gets side tracked too much, and generally lacks density. i guess the material actually in the book could be concentrated on half the page count...not being a native English speaker i feel rather disappointed. normally the best essays i ever read are in English, and following the great anglophone tradition of essay writers. this one falls a little short.

There is no way I can possibly do justice to Dr. Farman’s Delayed Response in a short review. However, hopefully I can give some insight into this phenomenal book.Being a rather impatient person, I was challenged throughout the book to look at waiting in a whole new light. The way he puts a positive spin on a topic that many of us might argue is a negative in our lives is absolutely phenomenal. He captivated me with his stories of the various ways humans have waited over a vast period time and has left me with so many questions about how I might now learn to be better at waiting and find the joy in the moment, rather than just passing the time to get to the next thing. His beautiful tribute to Private Joseph Coryell will be in my mind for a long time to come, as will his conclusion and call for a suggested alternate response to waiting. I am eager to share this with my middle school students and encourage them to consider the ways waiting impacts them every day.I highly recommend this to anyone who has ever had to wait for anything.

以前彼が出版した『Mobile Interface Theory』からのファンですが、同書からすると英語はかなり読みやすいです。それは、序章以降は、理論よりも個別の具体例が中心に話が継続していくからです。今回の『Delayed Response』で検討されているのは、モバイル・メディアに依存し、コミュニケーションが高速化（より正確には瞬間化／instantaneous）する社会のなかで、「待つこと」により不安を感じやすくなっている現代人のありようを、歴史社会的な枠組みのなかで再検討していくというような内容です。時間の流れとしては、多少前後はしますが、現代から、近過去へ（真空管郵便配送システム）、そして中世へ（グローバルな手紙の流通やそこに与えられた物質的な真正性と身体性）と進んでいきます。Farman自身も言及していますが、多少メディア考古学的なニュアンスも伝わります。上述の通り英語は平易なので、研究者以外の読者にも開かれている書籍だと思いますが、一方でFarmanが、北米でなおかつ理論よりのモバイルメディア研究者であったこと、及び2010年代のメディア考古学や、Infrastructure mediaの文脈まで押さえている方でないと、その含意が十分には読み込めない書籍でもあるというのがとりあえず一度通読した後の印象です。元々比較的近いメディアに対する関心を持っていた僕にとっては、ありがたい書籍がでたなと喜んでいます。

The topic of this book is very interesting--however the author does not go very deep to explore it. Ideas like waiting as a part of communication, as a driver of inequality and power are brought up. But these concepts are not properly developed by the author. Ultimately he doesn't have any argument and only offers platitude after platitude.

Great read. The modern world can be overwhelming, and a lack of response from coworkers or family can feel like a slight. Great insights, highly recommend