Faster

"This was one of the first books that I read when I began thinking about these ideas of fast and slow, speed and deceleration. It’s a funny kind of book, descriptive and not prescriptive. There’s an undercurrent of disapproval of this acceleration, but it feels more like a scientific cataloguing of all the manifestations of our fast culture. How long people are prepared to wait on hold on a phone before they hang up, or for the doors to close in elevators – that kind of thing. The book itself is a bit breathless, and it consolidated my feelings that everything was speeding up, with diminishing returns and to the point of absurdity. It’s a very complex interplay of lots of different things. I certainly don’t blame the technology. Gadgets are neutral – they’re tools, and it’s down to how we use them. Many people think the slow movement is Luddite, but I think it’s about using technology to find the right tempo. I have an iPhone, I have wireless on my laptop, I use Twitter and Facebook – but I use all of that stuff with what I consider to be a slow spirit. I don’t feel like I’m harassed by these gadgets, or a slave to them. Throughout history, when a new technology comes along it takes a while for people to work out the new cultural norms and social mores around it. There was a story in the papers the other week about a café owner in Norfolk who refused to serve customers who came to the counter talking on the phone. There are quiet coaches on British trains. The first thing David Cameron did when he took over government was to ban the use of smartphones in cabinet meetings, so that ministers would shut it all out and focus. I guess he’ll have to tweet in the loo afterwards."