Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Uniformity of Time

Today, the journey home feels exceptionally long.
It seems like three hours have passed, but in reality, less than an hour has gone by.
When I tell someone, I’ll probably say it took me 40 minutes to get home.

But what if time flowed differently for each person?
Who was the first to implement the standard time that we all follow today?
While humans have certainly become more efficient and productive because of this standardized time, have we really become happier?
For many, could the uniformity of time actually be a source of stress?

When a few individuals extract and organize the common, unrefined elements of human existence into a structured system, does that truly enrich our lives? Or does it make us happier?

Lately, the templates, modules, systems, and processes I encounter seem to have started with creativity, but over time, they’ve shifted to prioritizing productivity.

When humans first began using tools,
Were they happier for having used them?
Or were they happier for having created them?