An Excellent read on TIME !
Perception of time across different cultures and different people has been aptly studied by the author and interesting observations are made on same basis. Talking about the history of time to the current locking people have to the clock dial and the differences which author experienced through personal experience and experiments carried out by him with help of his students. Even within big countries the differences persist between different regions.
After reading and living in a fast paced city I could relate to what author was saying. Also, another point got clarified that living in fast paced city does not necessarily mean a bad thing... it all depends on Personal Tempo and how flexible one is as per the need of the hour. It also plays a vital role in relationships as if personal tempos are different and inflexible it will be very challenging to tune along with your partner.
The cross linkage element of this study of time to many facets of day to day life is clearly reflected as one reads through the book.
India will have various cultures of time for sure as I have experienced on my own being a native and living in both North and South India. Differences need to be appreciated and noted. But mostly I find people getting jittery and uncomfortable with that and start complaining of all what does not fit right in their view. I too indulge in it sometimes :P.
Listing few of the interesting observations
- Patience derived from latin word for more suffering
-Travel derived from french word "Travail" meaning hard work and penance.
-experience with a Japanese friend: “Oftentimes a ‘Yes’ is just a way of saying, ‘You’ve really got a good idea there.’ One of my colleagues is a Japanese national . . . I [might say to her]: ‘Work meeting, noon, Friday at the Maple Garden Restaurant. Okay?’ She says, ‘Maple Garden, what a great choice for a restaurant.’ Now is that a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’? It’s a ‘Yes’ from my perspective. But from her perspective, she’s just telling me what great taste I have in restaurant choices. She hasn’t committed to showing up. Oftentimes ‘yes’ meaning ‘no’ and ‘no’ meaning ‘yes’ is to keep a positive current going through the relationship.”
-The Japanese, for example, hold the concept of ma—roughly meaning the spaces or intervals between objects and activity—in the highest esteem. Westerners might refer to the space between a table and a chair as empty. The Japanese refer to the space as “full of nothing.” What doesn’t happen for the Japanese is often more important than what does occur, a concept that often baffles Western visitors. For example, comprehending the meaning of verbal communication in Japan requires attending to what is not said, sometimes more than to what actually is said. Because of this, simply understanding the difference between “yes” and “no” can make a naive gaijin (foreigner) have a fit. Although the Japanese have a definite word for “no” (iie), it is rarely used. Most questions, it turns out, are answered “yes” (hai), or not answered at all, no matter whether the respondent means “yes” or “no.”
-Psychological pleasure is, I think, channeled in time, as physical pain or satisfaction runs along the conduits of our nerves. When time compresses and shortens, it strangles pleasure; when it diffuses into aimlessness, the self thins out into affectless torpor. Pleasure exists in middle time, in time that is neither too accelerated or too slowed down.
-By working for and with the group, the pressure is divided among one’s co-workers. As a result, Japanese workers appear to avoid much of the stress that typically accompanies hard work in the West.
