We have met the Devil of Information Overload and his impish underlings, the computer virus, the busy signal, the dead link, and the PowerPoint presentation.
James GleickRead
I'm trying to look at many, many things in modern life that I believe are going faster, and I'm trying to look at why they're going faster and what effect they have on us. We all know about FedEx and instant pudding, but it doesn't mean we've looked at all the consequences of our desire for speed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the rapid pace of modern life and the need to understand its consequences.
James Gleick's quote highlights the urgency with which modern society operates and encourages a deeper examination of how this speed affects our lives. While conveniences like FedEx and instant pudding illustrate our desire for quicker solutions, there is a call to consider the broader implications of our obsession with speed, prompting reflection on its potential impact on human behavior, relationships, and societal values.
Themes
SpeedModern LifeConsequencesReflectionSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the effects of technology on interpersonal relationships.
More from James Gleick
All quotes →A good part of 'The Information' is about the transition from an oral to a literary culture. Books effected such a great transformation in the way we think about the world, our history, our logic, mathematics, you name it. I think we would be greatly diminished as a people and as a culture if the book became obsolete.
James GleickRead
Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace.
James GleickRead
Every time a new technology comes along, we feel we're about to break through to a place where we will not be able to recover. The advent of broadcast radio confused people. It delighted people, of course, but it also changed the world.
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"Half genius and half buffoon," Freeman Dyson ... wrote. ... [Richard] Feynman struck him as uproariously American-unbuttoned and burning with physical energy. It took him a while to realize how obsessively his new friend was tunneling into the very bedrock of modern science.
James GleickRead
We have a habit of turning to scientists when we want factual answers and artists when we want entertainment, but where are the facts about the nature of the self? Neurologists peering at PET scans and fMRIs know they aren't seeing the soul in there.
James GleickRead
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