The technologically tethered, iPhone-addicted figure is an image we can easily conjure. Most of us complain that there aren't enough hours in the day and too many e-mails in our thumb-accessible inboxes. This widespread perception that life is faster than it used to be is now ingrained in our culture, and smartphones and the Internet are continually being blamed. But isn't the sole purpose of the smartphone to give us such quick access to people and information that we'll be free to do other things? Isn't technology supposed to make our lives easier? In Pressed for Time, Judy Wajcman explains why we immediately interpret our experiences with digital technology as inexorably accelerating everyday life. She argues that we are not mere hostages to communication devices, and the sense of always being rushed is the result of the priorities and parameters we ourselves set rather than the machines that help us set them. Indeed, being busy and having action-packed lives has become valorized by our productivity driven culture. Wajcman offers a bracing historical perspective, exploring the commodification of clock time, and how the speed of the industrial age became identified with progress. She also delves into the ways time-use differs for diverse groups in modern societies, showing how changes in work patterns, family arrangements, and parenting all affect time stress. Bringing together empirical research on time use and theoretical debates about dramatic digital developments, this accessible and engaging book will leave readers better versed in how to use technology to navigate life's fast lane.

From the bestselling, National Book Award-nominated author of Genius and Chaos, a bracing new work about the accelerating pace of change in today's world. Most of us suffer some degree of "hurry sickness." a malady that has launched us into the "epoch of the nanosecond," a need-everything-yesterday sphere dominated by cell phones, computers, faxes, and remote controls. Yet for all the hours, minutes, and even seconds being saved, we're still filling our days to the point that we have no time for such basic human activities as eating, sex, and relating to our families. Written with fresh insight and thorough research, Faster is a wise and witty look at a harried world not likely to slow down anytime soon.

Hartmut Rosa advances an account of the temporal structure of society from the perspective of critical theory. He identifies in particular three categories of change in the tempo of modern social life: technological acceleration, evident in transportation, communication, and production; the acceleration of social change, reflected in cultural knowledge, social institutions, and personal relationships; and acceleration in the pace of life, which happens despite the expectation that technological change should increase an individual's free time. According to Rosa, both the structural and cultural aspects of our institutions and practices are marked by the "shrinking of the present," a decreasing time period during which expectations based on past experience reliably match future results and events. When this phenomenon combines with technological acceleration and the increasing pace of life, time seems to flow ever faster, making our relationships to each other and the world fluid and problematic. It is as if we are standing on "slipping slopes," a steep social terrain that is itself in motion and in turn demands faster lives and technology. As Rosa deftly shows, this self-reinforcing feedback loop fundamentally determines the character of modern life.

This edition of Alchemy of Nine Dimensions is out of print. A new 20th anniversary edition (9781591435433) will be published by Inner Traditions International/Bear & Company on November 5, 2024.

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

You know that you are moving, but you really aren't going anywhere. Confined by and defined by laziness, loss, or limitations, you continually live beneath your potential while living up to everyone else's expectations. You are living a life led by compulsion. You have lost touch with the power of propulsion. It does not matter whether you are sixty-two, twenty-six, or sixteen and two months; your potential, performance, and prosperity can elevate just as quickly as you decide to live a life of purpose. In The Flight of Your Life, Charles and Yvana Bailey use accounts of their personal wins and losses over a combined fifteen years of national and international athletics, entrepreneurship, coaching, and ministry to daringly inspire you to put yourself in the propulsive position and to maximize every passion, performance, or the people you encounter as you create the life that you have been created for. Give yourself this pre-sent. This is the ticket for The Flight of Your Life. Charles and Yvana have dedicated themselves to the power of propulsion. Over a decade of marriage; five degrees in business, science, health, and communications; and managing multiple streams of income and influence, they have committed themselves to enlarging their platforms in order to create room for you to take the flight of your life. “. . . sage advice, and a disciplined approach, for anyone desiring to succeed at their purpose in life . . .” - Rick Whitted, Author & Speaker, Outgrow Your Space At Work “. . . a wake-up call and a plan of action for those who have been waiting on life . . .” - Carolina Flores, CEO of Hi Hello “. . . an appropriate step for those who hear their calling but need the courage to respond.” - Sam Kendricks, Olympic Medalist, Soldier “. . . a really good look into the reality of overcoming obstacles.” - Fletcher Cox, Super Bowl Champion, Philadelphia Eagles “. . . a book that every service member should be given at the moment they enter into service . . .” - Marcus Campbell, Command Sergeant Major, U.S. Army Retired “The book is outstanding. Well worth reading.” - Joe Walker, Jr., US Olympic Committee National Track and Field Coach of The Year

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.