--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ambient awareness is the experience of…" description: "\"Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what's going on in the lives of other people - what they're thinking about, what they're doing, what the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/clive-thompson-15484_able_ambient-awareness-is-the-experience-of-k_1787660.png" --- # Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what's… ![“Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what's going on in the lives of other people - what they're thinking about, what they're doing, what they're looking at - by paying attention to the small stray status messages that people are putting online. We're now able to stitch together these…” quote by Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/clive-thompson-15484_able_ambient-awareness-is-the-experience-of-k_1787660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/clive-thompson-15484_able_ambient-awareness-is-the-experience-of-k_1787660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/clive-thompson-15484_able_ambient-awareness-is-the-experience-of-k_1787660.png) > “Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what's going on in the lives of other people - what they're thinking about, what they're doing, what they're looking at - by paying attention to the small stray status messages that people are putting online. We're now able to stitch together these fantastic details and mental maps of what is going on in other people's lives.” [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding subtle online cues builds a mental map of others’ activities and thoughts, creating a sense of being in sync without direct communication. **In simple terms:** Small online clues give a sense of others’ lives. Key Takeaway Pay attention to everyday status updates. Themes communication social media perception empathy Mood curious reflective connected Type observational insightful When to use this quote - team collaboration - friendship maintenance - marketing research - personal networking Key Concepts network theory social cognition information overload Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify the accuracy of inferred information? - What boundaries should protect personal privacy? A Different Perspective Relying on fragments can lead to misinterpretation or privacy concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Lives of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-of-others/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stitches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stitches/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what's going on in the lives of other people - what they're thinking about, what they're doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/ambient-awareness-is-the-experience-of-knowing-what-s-going-on-in-the-2/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [“Now, draw your awareness to a time, circumstance, or place of experiencing your senses, engrossed in what you were seeing, feeling, smelling, or tasting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-t-lusk/now-draw-your-awareness-to-a-time-circumstance-or-place-of-2/) [Julie T. Lusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-t-lusk/) > [The me that is me is not my body. It's an awareness and an experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/the-me-that-is-me-is-not-my-body-it-s-an-awareness-and-an-experience/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [“This witnessing consciousness, this formless dimension of yourself, is the awareness in which your experience happens, yet it remains untouched by this experience at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/this-witnessing-consciousness-this-formless-dimension-of-yourself-is/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Germans grew reluctant to stay in communal ski lodges, fearing they might talk in their sleep. They postponed surgeries because of the lip-loosening effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/germans-grew-reluctant-to-stay-in-communal-ski-lodges-fearing-they/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [It simply isn't true, for example, that being big is in general better for fitness than being small except when there are effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-fodor/it-simply-isn-t-true-for-example-that-being-big-is-in-general-better/) [Jerry Fodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-fodor/) > [It was the Faith which gradually and indirectly transformed the slave into the serf, and the serf into the free peasant. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/it-was-the-faith-which-gradually-and-indirectly-transformed-the-slave/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [“Reducing ambient environmental radiation to the lowest levels possible would be prudent during the global COVID-19 pandemic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/reducing-ambient-environmental-radiation-to-the-lowest-levels/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When I first started out, I was making really slow, psychedelic ambient music because it was all I could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/when-i-first-started-out-i-was-making-really-slow-psychedelic-ambient/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [“First love is all sensation and ambient zooms, and letting the world ebb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/first-love-is-all-sensation-and-ambient-zooms-and-letting-the-world/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [Ambient music must be as ignorable as it is interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/ambient-music-must-be-as-ignorable-as-it-is-interesting/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I like listening to ambient music, especially in very scenic places because I think it allows for the most freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-like-listening-to-ambient-music-especially-in-very-scenic-places/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [Ambient means the natural center or atmosphere of a space. All music has that in it- a space or center. I think it just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-laswell/ambient-means-the-natural-center-or-atmosphere-of-a-space-all-music/) [Bill Laswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-laswell/) > [I am not a big fan of what I call 'ambient television,' which just washes through you in a very polite way. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purefoy/i-am-not-a-big-fan-of-what-i-call-ambient-television-which-just/) [James Purefoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purefoy/) > [Ambient music is intended to induce calm and a space to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/ambient-music-is-intended-to-induce-calm-and-a-space-to-think/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## More by Clive Thompson > [The Internet lets thousands of total strangers collaborate to produce a truly hivelike result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-internet-lets-thousands-of-total-strangers-collaborate-to-produce/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Novelists in particular love to rhapsodize about the glory of the solitary mind; this is natural, because their job requires them to sit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/novelists-in-particular-love-to-rhapsodize-about-the-glory-of-the/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [When you're an expert in a subject, you can retain new factoids on your favorite topic easily. This only works for the subjects you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/when-you-re-an-expert-in-a-subject-you-can-retain-new-factoids-on/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Why are online games so addictive? It's mostly the narcotic appeal of 'leveling.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/why-are-online-games-so-addictive-it-s-mostly-the-narcotic-appeal-of/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [More than any other modern tool, computers are a total mystery to their users. Most people never open them up to fix them or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/more-than-any-other-modern-tool-computers-are-a-total-mystery-to/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [When you broadcast your book reading voluntarily, it creates moments of fascinating serendipity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/when-you-broadcast-your-book-reading-voluntarily-it-creates-moments/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [The only reason we don't notice how absolutely interwoven our thinking processes have become with older technologies - pencils, paper, electric light, penicillin, fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-only-reason-we-don-t-notice-how-absolutely-interwoven-our/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [“While reading Kasparov’s book How Life Imitates Chess on my Kindle, I idly clicked on “popular highlights” to see what passages other readers had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/while-reading-kasparov-s-book-how-life-imitates-chess-on-my-kindle-i/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [The main message of 'Smarter Than You Think' is an attempt to look at the productively new and interesting ways that we have begun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-main-message-of-smarter-than-you-think-is-an-attempt-to-look-at/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [There is something about the ability to externalize our thoughts and compare them with other people in a public way that is really transformative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/there-is-something-about-the-ability-to-externalize-our-thoughts-and/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Type as quickly as you can and always carry a pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/type-as-quickly-as-you-can-and-always-carry-a-pencil/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [I don't think the Internet has replaced cities in any significant way, nor really could it. Cities are dynamic - and deeply seductive for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/i-don-t-think-the-internet-has-replaced-cities-in-any-significant-way/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Railing at scientists for massaging tree-ring statistics won't stop the globe from warming if the globe is actually, you know, warming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/railing-at-scientists-for-massaging-tree-ring-statistics-won-t-stop/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Transactive memory works best when you have a sense of how your partners' minds work - where they're strong, where they're weak, where their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/transactive-memory-works-best-when-you-have-a-sense-of-how-your/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [The amount of writing that people do online is astonishing, and historically unprecedented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-amount-of-writing-that-people-do-online-is-astonishing-and/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) [Explore all 43 Clive Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what's going on in the lives of other people - what they're thinking about, what they're doing, what they're looking at - by paying attention to the small stray status messages that people are putting online. 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