Neoteny and Playfulness and Pretend

Joi Ito posted this week his contribution on neoteny to Seth Godin’s free new e-book What Matters Now:

The future of the planet is becoming less about being efficient, producing more stuff and protecting our turf and more about working together, embracing change and being creative. [...] It’s time we listen to children and allow neoteny to guide us beyond the rigid frameworks and dogma created by adults.

Ambience as Ambiance

Over the weekend, Russell Davies had a great, albeit short, post on the notion of ambient speech, including this gem of an explanation:
I used to think that what you wanted from Ambient Speech was the rhythm of conversation but that you didn’t need the meaning, like Charlie Brown’s teacher.  But I was awake in a hotel [...]