Coined by French writer Georges Perec in 1973 essay “Approaches to What”. I discovered this while reading Jenny Odell’s Saving Time.
Instead of the extraordinary that news and media focus on, the infraordinary is in the invisible and habitual.
“That which is generally not taken note of, that which is not noticed, that which has no importance: what happens when nothing happens other than the weather, people, cars, and clouds.”
Ways to find the infraordinary:
- Write a noticing list from the same cafe or bench multiple times a day for a few days