i remember seeing an IMAX film (i think it was "To Fly") and the narrator made the point that we often meaure distance in time "its just 5 minutes from here" or "its a twelve hour drive" -- and in the past 200 years things have accelerated. Californina was a six month trip from th east coast before the US civil war. now, door to door, its 6 hour!
and the acceleration of travel is just one area of acceleration.
we are no longer content to go to a tailors, be fitted, and have custom made clothing provided in 6 weeks. we would much rather go to a department store and get a ready made article, that doesn't always fit perfectly, but is good enough, NOW!
changing the levels of intermediaries make my percieved time to do the transactions seem shorter.
Now, i drive for 30 minutes or 40, or 50, to get to a mall, where i need to go from store to store, looking for what it is that i want, and trying to find something ready made that meets my needs.. and i might repeat the same action 3 or 3 or 4 times before i am satisfied with the product..
but very frustrating is finding something that is almost right, the right style, with all the features i want, but in the wrong color or the wrong size, and now i have to find a sales clerk, and wait for the clerk to check the stock to see if any are available but not on the selling floor, and if not, to call an other store, and have someone there check the stock... if i could go to a terminal, and check for myself, and i would be so much happier.. do i want to be sales clerk? or a stock boy? no. but i also don't want to be dependant on the sales clerk, stock boy and all the other intermediaries. I have found what i want.. i want it now.
studies show, that long lines at check out cause customer to abandon purchaces and walk out. the same acceleration that has me in California in 6 hours, has created in me a desire to get out and get on with my life faster.
i am actually very conscious of this, and i try to fight it. (at least to the point of not getting annoyed by delays.)
