Agar and agorae

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Just looked at Matthew Mankin's work on 'Location Linked Information,' his Master's thesis. His Smart Cities Overview is a detailed look at "space-based computing" and the addition of an overlay of communications technology to physical space. For him, building the technologically-augmented city requires a kind of "agar" - "a contained space in which digital life can flourish, yet be controlled and contained." (7). It's a reference to the idea of ICTs as a kind of invisible "goo" that bridges the physical gaps between places, and the social gaps between people. So far so good.

Though the two words are not etymologically related, I can't help but think of the old concept of the agora, the marketplace of ancient Greece. (Agar is actually of Malaysian derivation.) Agar and agora are two metaphors for connectedness: the dish of jelly within which bacteria thrive and the gathering space for human endeavor. The agora is an empty space bounded by buildings; agar is a substance that flows to fill up empty space.

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