ABSTRACT

Every process in life and technology, communication included, has its preconditions. As we discussed in the first chapter, most of these are “soft” rather than “hard,” in that they make the process possible, allow it to happen, rather than dictate its existence and result. They thus form a background environment, often so recessed as to be overlooked or taken for granted. Who jumps to the immediate realization when looking at a skyscraper that the elevator was an essential precondition or collateral technology?