if i didn't care

As the authors were offering their final points at the end of the Q&A, [Steven] Johnson hit on a metaphor that, for once, everyone could agree on: the city.

The city, like the internet, is noisy, distracting, overwhelming, and potentially isolating. But people choose the city for its stimulus and connection, says Johnson, “and for me technology is like that: I know the cost, but I choose it.”

[Sherry] Turkle jotted down the metaphor on her notepad before responding:

“The best artists learned to find solitude in the middle of the metropolitan space,” she said. And “we need to learn to find solitude in the technological space.”