Book review Tyranny of the moment - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Subtitled Fast and slow time in the information age, this book by norwegian Thomas Hylland Eriksen details the struggle between two kinds of experiences. Fast time is when youre doing 10 things at the same time. Youre talking on the phone while reading email, listening to the radio and half-following another conversation in the room. Slow time is when you focus on one thing only. You take time to cook a nice meal, to play with your child or to do nothing. Eriksen argues that the information age is geared almost exclusively towards fast time and that consequently we have to make slow time for ourselves. Eriksen also argues that in any contest between fast time and slow time, fast time will win, because it is immediately gratifying and (not least) addictive. The book contains a fine overview of the changes were seeing as society moves further into the information age.
