Tyranny of the moment : fast and slow time in the information age / Thomas Hylland Eriksen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eriksen, Thomas Hylland.

Standardized Title:

Øyeblikkets tyranni. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Information society.

Information technology--Social aspects.

Information technology.

Time--Social aspects.

Time.

Time pressure.

Computers and civilization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (192 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, Va. : Pluto Press, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

'While reading Tyranny of the Moment, I found myself both charmed and challenged. The subject is an important one, and Thomas Hylland Eriksen handles it with style, a light touch, and many amiable provocations.' Todd GitlinThe turn of the millennium is characterized by exponential growth in everything related to communication - from the internet and email to air traffic. Tyranny of the Moment deals with some of the most perplexing paradoxes of this new information age. Who would have expected that apparently time-saving technology results in time being scarcer than ever? And has this seemingly limitless access to information led to confusion rather than enlightenment?Eriksen argues that slow time - private periods where we are able to think and correspond without interruption - is now one of the most precious resources we have. Since we are theoretically 'online' 24 hours a day, we must fight for the right to be unavailable - the right to live and think more slowly. It is not only that working hours have become longer - Eriksen also shows how the logic of this new information technology has permeated every area of our lives. Exploring phenomena such as the internet, wap telephones, multi- channel television and email, Eriksen examines this non-linear and fragmented way of communicating to reveal how it affects working conditions in the economy, changes in family life and, ultimately, personal identity. Eriksen argues that a culture lacking a sense of its past, and therefore of its future, is effectively static. Although solutions are suggested, he demonstrates that there is no easy way out.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

List of Figures

Preface

1. Introduction: Mind the Gap!

2. Information Culture, Information Cult

THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY BEGAN IN 1991

THE INTERNET IS A TEMPLATE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

IN INFORMATION SOCIETY, EVEN THE PIGS ARE IT COMPATIBLE

IN INFORMATION SOCIETY, FREEDOM FROM INFORMATION IS A SCARCE RESOURCE

LESS IS MORE

IN INFORMATION SOCIETY,THE GAPS ARE BEING FILLED WITH FAST TIME

NO TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES TURN OUT AS ANTICIPATED

IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, FREEDOM AND VULNERABILITY ARE SYNONYMS

NEW TENSIONS SUPPLEMENT THE OLD ONES

3. The Time of the Book, the Clock and Money

AFTER SPEECH AND VISUAL ART, WRITING MARKED A MAJOR WATERSHED IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

THE CLOCK WAS INTRODUCED TO REGULATE PRAYER TIMES

WHAT DOES IT REGULATE NOW?

MONEY BELONGS TO THE SAME FAMILY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AS WRITING AND CLOCKS

NOTATION DOES THE SAME KIND OF WORK AS WRITING, NUMBERS,CLOCKS AND MONEY

SOCIETY BECOMES INCREASINGLY ABSTRACT

LINEAR TIME IS NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM

4. Speed

OUR HISTORY IS THE HISTORY OF ACCELERATION

SPEED IS AN ADDICTIVE DRUG

SPEED LEADS TO SIMPLIFICATION

SPEED CREATES ASSEMBLY LINE EFFECTS

SPEED LEADS TO A LOSS OF PRECISION

SPEED DEMANDS SPACE

SPEED IS CONTAGIOUS

GAINS AND LOSSES TEND TO EQUAL EACH OTHER OUT

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE LEADS TO UNPREDICTED SIDE- EFFECTS

5. Exponential Growth

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IS EVEN AND MAY SEEM UNDRAMATIC FOR A LONG TIME

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH CREATES SCARCITY OF SPACE

SIDE-EFFECTS BECOME DOMINANT

THERE IS A GROWING AMOUNT OF EVERYTHING

THE GROWTH RATES IN CYBERSPACE SURPASS EVERYTHING ELSE

TIME GOES TOWARDS ZERO

6. Stacking

THE MOMENT PRECLUDES DEVELOPMENT

FILTERS AGAINST FRAGMENTATION DO NOT REMOVE FRAGMENTATION

PIECES REPLACE TOTALITIES.

CONTEMPORARY CULTURE RUNS AT FULL SPEED WITHOUT MOVING AN INCH

STACKING REPLACES INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT

THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS STRIKES WITH A VENGEANCE

INFORMATION LINT DESTROYS CONTINUITY

7. The Lego Brick Syndrome

AN ACCELERATED PROFESSIONAL LIFE OFFERS FLEXIBILITY AND REMOVES SECURITY

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN WORK AND LEISURE IS ERASED

FAMILY LIFE IS BY NATURE SLOW AND FITS THE CURRENT ERA BADLY

THE CULT OF YOUTH IS CAUSED BY THE TYRANNY OF THE MOMENT

CONSUMPTION IS STACKED,AND COHERENCE DISAPPEARS

DOES THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION ACTUALLY INCREASE EFFICIENCY?

8 The Pleasures of Slow Time

Sources

2 INFORMATION CULTURE, INFORMATION CULT

3 THE TIME OF THE BOOK, THE CLOCK AND MONEY

4 SPEED

5 EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

6 STACKING

7 THE LEGO BRICK SYNDROME

8 THE PLEASURES OF SLOW TIME

Index.

Notes:

Rev. ed. of: ℗Øyeblikkets tyranni, 2001.

"A different version of this book was published in Norwegian by H. Aschehoug in spring 2001. In preparing the English version, I considered the possibility of trying to erase every visible trace of its Scandinavian origin, replacing all examples and all local flavour with UK or US equivalents ... Instead, I have opted for a compromise, replacing those Scandinavian examples which do not make sense out of context ... but keeping others"--P. ix.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781783716234

1783716231

9781849645157

1849645159

9780585426358

058542635X

OCLC:

50811566