What do we afford-and what affords us?A button invites a press. A screen beckons a swipe. A silence, a gaze, a gesture-they all offer something. But what happens when the tools begin to want? When systems record our rhythms, adapt to our emotions, and wait for our hands like patient familiars?What Do We Afford is a speculative field manual of human and nonhuman use-told through eerie reports, dreamlike system logs, and the quiet mutiny of the everyday.
A subway drips with spores that remember longing. A phone glows warm with affection training. A dog learns to speak regret. A therapist becomes a corridor. Written in fragments, forums, and false diagnostics, this book asks not only what we do with objects-but what they do with us. For readers of speculative fiction, poetic systems theory, and those who have ever wondered if the smart device on their nightstand dreams of being needed.
What do we afford-and what affords us?A button invites a press. A screen beckons a swipe. A silence, a gaze, a gesture-they all offer something. But what happens when the tools begin to want? When systems record our rhythms, adapt to our emotions, and wait for our hands like patient familiars?What Do We Afford is a speculative field manual of human and nonhuman use-told through eerie reports, dreamlike system logs, and the quiet mutiny of the everyday.
A subway drips with spores that remember longing. A phone glows warm with affection training. A dog learns to speak regret. A therapist becomes a corridor. Written in fragments, forums, and false diagnostics, this book asks not only what we do with objects-but what they do with us. For readers of speculative fiction, poetic systems theory, and those who have ever wondered if the smart device on their nightstand dreams of being needed.