"Eavesdropping is communication, and it has two features that make it unusually interesting. The first is that it feeds on activity that is inherently intimate, and is so because the actors are unaware of the receiver, therefore feel free to be 'themselves'. The second feature that makes eavesdropping so interesting relates to the way the information travels. It is not donated by the sender. It is stolen by the receiver."Apparently this is the first intensive study of the subject from a behaviorist perspective, and looks like it will be a fun read.
Just as cooks pray for a good crop of young animals and fishermen for a good haul of fish, in the same way busybodies pray for a good crop of calamities or a good haul of difficulties that they, like cooks and fishermen, may always have something to fish out and butcher. (Plutarch, "On Being a Busybody")
Pages
▼
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Eavesdropping
From the Oxford University Press Blog, reviewing John Locke's new book, Eavesdropping: An Intimate History:
No comments:
Post a Comment