Speed Limits

出版者:Yale University Press

作者:Mark C. Taylor

页数:408

出版时间:2014-10-28

价格:USD 28.50

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780300206470

具体描述

A leading thinker asks why “faster” is synonymous with “better” in our hurried world and suggests how to take control of our runaway lives

We live in an ever-accelerating world: faster computers, markets, food, fashion, product cycles, minds, bodies, kids, lives. When did everything start moving so fast? Why does speed seem so inevitable? Is faster always better?

Drawing together developments in religion, philosophy, art, technology, fashion, and finance, Mark C. Taylor presents an original and rich account of a great paradox of our times: how the very forces and technologies that were supposed to free us by saving time and labor now trap us in a race we can never win. The faster we go, the less time we have, and the more we try to catch up, the farther behind we fall. Connecting our speed-obsession with today’s global capitalism, he composes a grand narrative showing how commitments to economic growth and extreme competition, combined with accelerating technological innovation, have brought us close to disaster. Psychologically, environmentally, economically, and culturally, speed is taking a profound toll on our lives.

By showing how the phenomenon of speed has emerged, Taylor offers us a chance to see our pace of life as the product of specific ideas, practices, and policies. It’s not inevitable or irreversible. He courageously and movingly invites us to imagine how we might patiently work towards a more deliberative life and sustainable world.

“Taylor's observant thought process inspires and promotes the kind of dramatic cultural change necessary to unplug and reflect.”—Kirkus Reviews

(Kirkus Reviews)

“A major scholar’s culminating and engaging vision of how we came to be as we are. Taylor is like a doctor who does not yet have the cure but does have a diagnosis. He names what ails us.”—Jack Miles, author of God: A Biography

(Jack Miles)

“With panache and flashes of brilliance, Taylor, a Columbia University religion professor and cultural critic, offers a philosophically astute analysis of how time works in our era: more is being squeezed into smaller and smaller bits of time, and everyone feels that they have less of it. . . . There is, appropriately, no quick fix, but Taylor provides plenty of provocative, learned ideas.” —Publishers Weekly

(Publishers Weekly)

"Speed Limits is an insightful and provocative book that deserves the widest possible readership. But with one cautionary note: dear readers, please don’t rush through it."—Howard Segal, THES

(Howard Segal THES 2014-11-20)

“A detailed, personal account of the time that machines have given to us--and the time that we have given to them.”—George Dyson, author of Turing's Cathedral

(George Dyson)

“In this brilliant and important book, Mark Taylor explains why we live as we do and why we feel so rotten about it. More importantly, he peels back the dynamics that interact and intersect and gives us hope in our efforts to choose a different gear."—Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of The Googlization of Everything

(Siva Vaidhyanathan)

“In this engrossing, beautifully written and erudite book Mark Taylor reveals how our complex economic, technological and social systems are subject to a devastating trend toward speed. Speed Limits will change your experience of the world—very much for the better.”—Juliet B. Schor, author of Plenitude

(Juliet B. Schor)

“This pathbreaking and transformative work helps us understand the origins and impact of the frenetic world we now live in, the root causes of our financial meltdown, climate change and the daily stress of the 24-7 economy. Speed may not kill, but in this important book we learn that it can destroy the very human capacity for reflection and deep thought.”—Steven Cohen, The Earth Institute, Columbia University

(Steven Cohen)

"Why is the pedal pushed to the metal in virtually every area of our lives? The reasons--historical, theological, technological, financial--are many, and no one has untangled them better than Mark Taylor in this remarkable book, his most important work to date.”—Jack Miles, author of God: A Biography

(Jack Miles)

“In this stunning masterpiece, Mark Taylor brings together deep scholarship, clarity of expression, and frightening, daring vision. This is original thinking at its explosive best. Accessible and timely, Taylor’s Speed Limits is philosophy as it once was: energetic, challenging, life-transforming, and vital.”—Esa Saarinen, Aalto University, Finland

(Esa Saarinen)

作者简介

Mark C. Taylor is professor and chair, Department of Religion, Columbia University. He lives in Williamstown, MA and New York, NY.

读后感

翻译真心不怎么样。才看了不到二十页，随便举两个例子，“way of organizing production”被翻译为"生成组织方式"，明明应该是“组织生产的方式”，"no telegraph network without railroads and no railroad system without the telegraph network"被翻译为"没有铁路就没有电...

翻译真心不怎么样。才看了不到二十页，随便举两个例子，“way of organizing production”被翻译为"生成组织方式"，明明应该是“组织生产的方式”，"no telegraph network without railroads and no railroad system without the telegraph network"被翻译为"没有铁路就没有电...

翻译真心不怎么样。才看了不到二十页，随便举两个例子，“way of organizing production”被翻译为"生成组织方式"，明明应该是“组织生产的方式”，"no telegraph network without railroads and no railroad system without the telegraph network"被翻译为"没有铁路就没有电...

翻译真心不怎么样。才看了不到二十页，随便举两个例子，“way of organizing production”被翻译为"生成组织方式"，明明应该是“组织生产的方式”，"no telegraph network without railroads and no railroad system without the telegraph network"被翻译为"没有铁路就没有电...

翻译真心不怎么样。才看了不到二十页，随便举两个例子，“way of organizing production”被翻译为"生成组织方式"，明明应该是“组织生产的方式”，"no telegraph network without railroads and no railroad system without the telegraph network"被翻译为"没有铁路就没有电...

用户评价

说实话，一开始我有些担心这本书会因为追求刺激而牺牲掉人物塑造，但事实证明我的顾虑是多余的。这里的角色群像塑造极其丰满和立体，没有绝对的好人或坏人，每个人都有自己的灰色地带和不可告人的动机。他们的对话火花四溅，充满了试探和潜台词，很多关键性的信息是通过角色间的微妙互动和眼神交流传递出来的，而不是依靠冗长的内心独白。这种“少说多做”的写作手法，极大地增强了阅读的参与感，迫使读者必须保持高度专注才能跟上角色的思维转变。最让我感到惊喜的是，它对社会边缘人群的刻画，那种底层逻辑的复杂性，远超出了普通类型小说的范畴，它触及到了关于信任、背叛以及在极端环境下构建道德体系的深刻议题。读完后，我感觉自己好像刚刚参加了一场漫长而艰苦的心理博弈，赢了，但也付出了某种代价。

我接触过不少以快速行动为主题的小说，但很少有能像这部作品一样，将“速度”与“停滞”这一对立概念处理得如此富有哲学意味。它探讨的不仅仅是物理上的疾驰，更是时间流逝感在现代社会中对个体心理的侵蚀。书中对于技术细节的描绘，那种严谨到近乎偏执的程度，让我这个外行人也感到非常信服，仿佛作者本人就是某个高度专业领域的专家。我尤其欣赏它对“失控”这一主题的处理——当主角们试图掌控一切时，往往发现自己早已被某种更宏大的系统或宿命所裹挟。这种无力感被描绘得淋漓尽致，不是那种传统的英雄主义叙事，而是一种更贴近现实的、关于如何在既定轨道上挣扎求生的写照。它成功地营造了一种“一切都在发生，但没人能真正控制”的氛围，这种宿命论的底色，为所有炫目的动作场景镀上了一层悲剧性的光芒。

这是一部结构极其精巧的作品，作者显然在布局上花费了大量的心思。它的叙事视角不断地在不同角色之间游走切换，但每一次切换都像是在拼图的关键一步，为读者揭示了之前未曾察觉的线索。我得说，这本书的魅力很大程度上来源于它对“信息差”的完美控制——它知道何时该抛出一个炸弹，何时又该留下一个悬而未决的谜团，牢牢地吊住读者的胃口。尤其是中期，那些看似不相关的支线情节，到后期竟然完美地汇聚成一条洪流，那种豁然开朗的感觉，简直是阅读体验的巅峰时刻。文字风格上，它呈现出一种冷静甚至有些疏离的美感，即使描述最残忍的场景，语气也保持着一种近乎科学的客观性，这反而增强了其冲击力。与那些过度煽情的作品不同，这本书用克制的力量构建了一个复杂而真实的世界。它不是那种读完就忘的爆米花小说，更像是需要反复咀嚼的精致菜肴，每一次重读，或许都能发现新的层次和意味。

这本书的叙事节奏简直像是脱缰的野马，从头到尾都充满了令人窒息的紧张感。作者在刻画人物心理挣扎时，那种细腻入微的笔触，让人仿佛能切身感受到主角们在巨大压力下的每一次呼吸和每一次心跳。情节的推进如同高速公路上的超车，每一次转折都出乎意料，却又在回想起来时觉得合乎情理。我特别喜欢作者如何巧妙地运用环境描写来烘托气氛，那种压抑、潮湿的城市角落，或是空旷、寒冷的荒野，都成为了角色内心冲突的绝佳注脚。故事的高潮部分，简直是教科书级别的场景构建，动作场面的设计流畅、精准，没有一丝多余的废话，纯粹的感官冲击，让人看完后需要深吸好几口气才能从那种肾上腺素飙升的状态中抽离出来。读完之后，我感觉自己的神经系统都受到了某种程度的重置，久久不能平复。这本书的深度不仅仅停留在表面的刺激，它还对人性的边界、道德的灰色地带进行了深入的探讨，让我在享受快感的同时，也不禁停下来反思。

这部作品的文学质感令人印象深刻，它没有采用那种常见的大开大合的叙事腔调，反而更像是一首用紧凑韵律写成的现代诗。作者的遣词造句充满了张力，有些句子短促有力，如同子弹射出，而另一些段落则扩展开来，充满了对细节的精致打磨，这种长短句的交错使用，在节奏感上创造出了一种极具韵律美的波浪起伏。它在处理复杂的情感线时，展现出一种近乎残酷的坦诚，尤其是在描绘角色之间的疏离和无法弥合的鸿沟时，笔触冷峻而精准，没有丝毫的煽情或拖泥带水。阅读过程中，我多次被一些极其精准的比喻或观察点所震撼，这些瞬间仿佛是作者不经意间投下的智慧火花，照亮了整个故事的暗角。这本书不仅提供了娱乐，更提供了一种审美的享受，它证明了高强度的情节驱动故事完全可以与精致的文学表达并存，并且相互成就。

我还在担心自己时间不够用怎么办，别的人已经甘愿被诊断为多动症，服药提高注意力了，利他林了解一下||读了一章，作者想要我们慢下来，事实上，我们还不够快，人类需要将大脑改造成更高效的信息处理系统

我还在担心自己时间不够用怎么办，别的人已经甘愿被诊断为多动症，服药提高注意力了，利他林了解一下||读了一章，作者想要我们慢下来，事实上，我们还不够快，人类需要将大脑改造成更高效的信息处理系统

我还在担心自己时间不够用怎么办，别的人已经甘愿被诊断为多动症，服药提高注意力了，利他林了解一下||读了一章，作者想要我们慢下来，事实上，我们还不够快，人类需要将大脑改造成更高效的信息处理系统

我还在担心自己时间不够用怎么办，别的人已经甘愿被诊断为多动症，服药提高注意力了，利他林了解一下||读了一章，作者想要我们慢下来，事实上，我们还不够快，人类需要将大脑改造成更高效的信息处理系统

我还在担心自己时间不够用怎么办，别的人已经甘愿被诊断为多动症，服药提高注意力了，利他林了解一下||读了一章，作者想要我们慢下来，事实上，我们还不够快，人类需要将大脑改造成更高效的信息处理系统