Speed Limits
Where Time Went and Why We Have So Little Left
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A contemplation on "the durability of our fast-tracked, multitasked modern world . . . a stimulating cautionary report for the digital age."—Kirkus Reviews
We live in an ever-accelerating world: faster computers, markets, food, fashion, product cycles, minds, bodies, kids, lives. When did everything start moving so fast? Why does speed seem so inevitable? Is faster always better?
Drawing together developments in religion, philosophy, art, technology, fashion, and finance, Mark C. Taylor presents an original and rich account of a great paradox of our times: how the very forces and technologies that were supposed to free us by saving time and labor now trap us in a race we can never win. The faster we go, the less time we have, and the more we try to catch up, the farther behind we fall. Connecting our speed-obsession with today's global capitalism, he composes a grand narrative showing how commitments to economic growth and extreme competition, combined with accelerating technological innovation, have brought us close to disaster. Psychologically, environmentally, economically, and culturally, speed is taking a profound toll on our lives.
By showing how the phenomenon of speed has emerged, Taylor offers us a chance to see our pace of life as the product of specific ideas, practices, and policies. It's not inevitable or irreversible. He courageously and movingly invites us to imagine how we might patiently work towards a more deliberative life and sustainable world.
"With panache and flashes of brilliance, Taylor, a Columbia University religion professor and cultural critic, offers a philosophically astute analysis of how time works in our era." —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With panache and flashes of brilliance, Taylor (After God), a Columbia University religion professor and cultural critic, offers a philosophically astute analysis of how time works in our era: more is being squeezed into smaller and smaller bits of time, and everyone feels that they have less of it. Email has, in part, created this time warp, but technology is inseparable from larger economic and philosophical forces. Taylor offers some occasionally potted history lessons, such as how the Protestant Reformation, the invention of the clock, and the rise of consumer credit all contributed to our current state. In the present, he touches on Google Glass and financial markets, as well as citing familiar, but nonetheless disturbing, data about how many texts people send, and our inability or refusal to actually enjoy leisure on our days off. Society has become fragmented, reflective subjectivity has morphed into "competitive individualism," and, ironically the "values that have allowed Western capitalism to thrive now threaten its collapse." There is, appropriately, no quick fix, but Taylor provides plenty of provocative, learned ideas.
Customer Reviews
It was a good book
Velocity is important. I think if you go before the renaissance and describe some connections to your point about speed limits, that would be good also