THE NEW NANOSECOND CULTURE, TIME WARS, Jeremy Rifkin

Summary

The author starts off by elaborating how we are held up with time, planning things of the edge
and going about it. Today we are surrounded by time-saving gadgetry which seldom succeed
in their task. Within just two decades, computer has invaded every aspect of our culture and
way of life. Computer introduces a new perspective of time and it works in a time frame in
which the nanosecond is the primary temporal measurement which humans cant percept. The
author uses various instances from different authors to bring a sense of what a nanosecond is.
The events being processed in the computer world exist in a time realm that humans will never
be able to experience. Long term computer users especially gamers often suffer the constant
rattle back and forth between the two time worlds. Psychologists and sociologists have started
soon realising the adverse effects like being impatient and intolerant. Users do not easily
tolerate the outside surface reality. Even though computers have paved way for easy flow of
communication, it led to isolation and people started relying on its time frame that they
became moulded to temporal dimension of the computer world. The new time world of the
computer started taking its toll on the first generation of computer workers and there was a
widespread work force resistance. In order to alleviate the concern, many employers and
software companies pitched in. The workers had to be successfully integrated themselves into
the time world of computers and programs, so much so that the new time frame will go
unquestioned. Educators started studying on the temporal development on children. When
children interact with computer, it requires a level of sustained mental concentration that far
exceeds the normal experience. The author takes up the case of LOGO program in which a child
can program a motion of flock of birds or parking a car with an artificial set of sequences
whereas he doesnt get to connect with actual experience and these have traditionally shaped
the temporal skills of children. Children dont feel comfortable pondering for longer periods of
time as they feel it is unnecessary and uneconomical such as reading books.

Response
The author talks about how orientation of time is perceived by human beings over the time
from ancient to information age and how the advent of computer systems started influencing
the human behaviour. He offers a courageous, thought-provoking challenge to how we
conceptualize time. We are gradually moving away from the biological rhythm of our nature
and he uses various instances and situations to make us realise that. This change came about
through postmodern industrialisation and advent of computers. Users find themselves
preoccupied in the computer interaction that they do not easily tolerate the outside surface
reality. The author sums it up saying that this greatly accelerated time orientation is going to
profoundly affect every aspect of our culture in the future and thus dividing us from the
rhythm of nature.

K Shyam Kumar
20160123130
PGP1 B