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
Neither technology nor efficiency can acquire more time for you, because time is not a thing you have lost. It is not a thing you ever had.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that time is not something we possess or can regain; rather, it is a fundamental aspect of existence that we experience.
James Gleick's quote emphasizes the elusive nature of time, highlighting that despite our desire to manage or optimize it through technology and efficiency, we cannot actually 'acquire' more time. It posits that time is not a resource to be hoarded or lost but a continuous experience that shapes our lives, implying that accepting this reality can lead to a more meaningful engagement with the present.
Themes
TimeTechnologyEfficiencyPhilosophyExistence
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a presentation about time management.
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Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace.
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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.
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