There are many different ways to consider the difference between environment and surrounding. Dick emphasizing this in his lectures, especially when discussing the third mode of design (person-environment).
He tells a story of when he was young. How he had this telescope and would look at the stars at night. He was fascinated by the constellations. In the morning, he would tell his mom about it and she couldn’t care about Orion or the Big Dipper. For Dick, the stars were part of his environment. For his mother, they were part of her surrounding.
This is the way I like to think of it:
Surrounding
- one does not have to be affected by one’s surrounding
- one should probably at least be aware of it
- ex: many people are aware that there is a war going on in Iraq, but in many ways, it doesn’t feel like we’re directly affected by it
Environment
- very similar to what architects refer to as milieu
- ex: when Ariel from the Little Mermaid sings, “Part of Your World,” she is talking about wanting to be part of Prince Eric’s environment not surrounding
On a more serious note, another example of environment is John Donne’s Meditation XVII. He writes,
All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated…As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness….No man is an island, entire of itself…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Through an awareness of the “other,” we can choose to bring something that is in the realm of surrounding to environment. Can this be freedom, the constant expansion of our own environment? This topic must be saved for another entry.
Edit on 7/28/08.
Thanks, Imran, for finding this excerpt from Dewey’s Democracy and Education. This is Dewey’s definition of environment:
In brief, the environment consists of those conditions that promote or hinder, stimulate or inhibit, the characteristic activities of a living thing. Water is the environment of a fish because it is necessary to the fish’s activities – to its life. The north pole is a significant element in the environment of an arctic explorer, whether he succeeds in reaching it or not, because it defines his activities, makes them what they distinctively are. Just because life signifies not bare passive existence (suppose there is such a thing), but a way of acting, environment or medium signifies what enters into his activity as a sustaining or frustrating condition.
Comments
4 Comments so far. Comments are closed.I interpreted surrounding vs. environment a bit differently. I agree with you on “environment”–that it is everything that is a part of someone’s experience that is important or relevant to them, regardless of physical location. But I think surrounding is not necessarily something that is outside of someone’s awareness, but is more about someone’s immediate environment, or their physical surroundings–which may or may not contain things directly relevant or important to someone. So, in the example, the Iraq war is not a part of anyone’s surroundings except for the people who live in the area, but it is a part of the environment of journalists, politicians, and anyone who makes an effort to keep it a part of their live, regardless of where they are.
Either way… let’s see some Dewey
… I think the distinction that Dick/Dewey makes is important because most authors use them interchangeably… and using Dick/Dewey’s distinction opens up discussion and thought to more possibilities when considering how the design of something might effect someone, especially in the digital age, when obviously the relevancy of things in our lives has transcended our immediate surroundings.
Yeah, I totally geeked out. Forgive me
Good comment, Imran. I think you captured the essence if surrounding v. environment in that many people use the words interchangeably.
I don’t know if your interpretation necessarily has to be different from mine, though. If we take “surrounding” to be a topoi, there’s still a range of meaning. Yes, in application to the digital age, environment transcends our immediate surrounding. Hence, the focus on experience design.
However, just as you’ve explored the multiple notions of “place” in your thesis, one’s surrounding can be something outside of the immediate environment. Notice how Dick’s mom didn’t really care about the stars that were light years away – they were not part of her immediate environment but were nonetheless part of her surrounding.
This is exactly the point with translocal media. With our world becoming “flatter,” what goes on in China can become headline news in America within seconds. YET, many people do not care. Just look at Time Square – this kind of global information ACTUALLY becomes part of one’s physical space with digital billboards and displays.
My point is that even things that would have been potential environments, thanks to the digital age, have now desensitized people and have become surroundings. But to your point, yes, digital media has also made us consider the access we have to other environments, beyond our current surroundings.
(Yeah, you geeked out. No need for forgiveness.)
Yeah, I agree with that, and I understand the way you’re talking about environment vs. surroundings a bit better now.
My biggest take away is simply that these distinctions aren’t as clear as they once were, and that makes things confusing and complicated for people. Hearing daily updates about violence in Iraq or other tragedies can make us desensitized, frustrated, or have other negative emotions. Those being symptoms of not being able to act to change what we may be unhappy with.
So maybe that is part of the dilemma: a disconnect between information and agency (or the capacity to act). And to bring it full circle to design, and your paper about culture… can we design products that allow us to act in our environments that are spread out and include multiple cultures? Instead of just being fed information, what can we do to enable people to become a part of a culture/environment/place/whatever that they currently feel disconnected(physically, emotionally, socially) from?
Good discussion…
also, for reference, here’s Dewey’s definitions:
Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education (pp.12-14)
Thanks for the e-book, Imran. Wow, I like how Dewey concisely defines and illustrates environment.
I think you made an excellent transition from information to agency. Even in the DMOC class, we struggled with the question, “Wherein lies agency?”
It’s interesting to tie it in with culture and the big picture. Maybe we might even take it a step back from information and talk about data. Once we start using the word, information, we attach interpretation to data. Perhaps data is what surrounds us. Once we become AWARE and start caring about the very activities that make us us, that data turns into information. However, as you pointed out, it suddenly becomes frustrating if we can’t do anything about the information we now know.
As Dewey writes, “The north pole is a significant element in the environment of an arctic explorer, whether he succeeds in reaching it or not, because it defines his activities … environment or medium signifies what enters into his activity as a sustaining or frustrating condition” (emphasis mine).
So, at best, an awareness or involvement in an environment is followed through with action (having an experience) at best, and at worst, stuck in a state of frustration. Kind of like when Neo is presented with the red and blue pill. How can you live with the knowledge of something and not take action?
This is why I mentioned freedom at the end of the post. For me, the question is, “How can we provide individuals the freedom to move from information to agency?” We certainly cannot force it. The equivalent design vocabulary would be affordance if we’re talking about usability. I wonder what other issues come up when looking at the theme of bridging information and agency (is this another name for theory and practice?).
Trackbacks
2 pings so far.