Quiet Wall Reflection

I watched a video of a project involving an iPad being embedded into a kitchen cabinet. Don't get me wrong, this struck me as cool and probably even practical depending on how it is used, but you see, long before the iPad, perhaps inspired by the wonderfully cool and geeky consoles and computer usage on Star Trek I watched as a kid, I used to dream of houses with touch-screen displays built into a wall in just about every room.

But with so many mobile devices already providing all sorts of information and entertainment, I am starting to lean towards the idea that the walls of our homes should instead provide us shelter from the deluge of stimulus-overload coming in through every digital window on our hands, tables, desks, sofas and beds. Let them be quiet and subtle, allowing us pause and reflection.

We need that pause. Life is so more than one continuous stream of stimuli.