Wayfinding and John Cage

The article on wayfinding brought something interesting to my attention. If there is one thing that John Cage does which defines him is acting on chance. He allows for the world and the environment around him to decide what his actions will be whether in music or dance. Okay-understood. Now when thinking about wayfinding...isn't wayfinding the idea of the structure of the way the world is/was/has been set up? There is not much chance if you are walking through the streets and following the side-walk. Would that mean that John Cage would sit down and write a series of directions and simply walk them not concerned as to where the path is leading him-whether through the streets and alleys or not? Or is having the choice available and simply letting chance choose which of those paths to take the way that John Cage would attempt wayfinding?

In my media criticism class we spoke about de Certeau as well. My point in that class was how there was never a black or white option as to whether media was more or less had the power over people or vis versa. If people are walking through the streets of a city and take a short cut, then someone else sees the availability of the short cut they will begin to take that-making a brand new path. Then that path becomes a part of the pre-planned city walk which makes the pedestrians go a certain way. In regards to media-we have a society that is built and runs by the media. We expect commercials, we expect to see funny shows, sad shows, good movies, bad movies, signs, product placement. How is there then much room to go off the path? Isn't the path ever growing? The shortcut made my the pedestrians in the city becomes a part of that landscape-just as scripted "reality" tv has become a part of our landscape. Yet with media it is your reaction to those expected shows and movies which takes you off the course a bit. So would your reaction to going a different way to work or taking a short-cut or just simply walking off the beaten path enough to be a new place? Rather than a space that is a "practiced place"?. Just as with the media I see no black or white-just as with anything really. There are so many many factors in every situation that changes things from the norm. That is life. I believe it is realizing that change is what makes one "aware" of the world in which they live in and participate.