Faster
the acceleration of just about everything
by James Gleick · first published 1999
80% recommend20% neutral
"In Faster, James Gleick explores nothing less than the human condition at the turn of the millennium. He shines a light of enterprising and analytical reporting - as well as sly wit - on the newest paradoxes of time. His journey takes us through the bunkers and trenches of a war we barely knew we were fighting: to the atomic clocks of the Directorate of Time, to the waiting rooms that focus our impatience, to the film production studios that test the high-speed limits of our perception, to the air-traffic command centers that give time pressure new meaning."--BOOK JACKET.
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…performance results I thought: sh*t, this is big.) Add to this the rise of the qubit, and the next 50 years are going to be even crazier than the last 50. Yes, I am a proselytizer of school of James Gleick. "Faster" was a prophecy[1]. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Faster-Acceleration-Just-About-Everyt...
on “AI in physics: are we facing a scientific revolution?” ↗…Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: https://www.amazon.com/Supposedly-Fun-Thing-Never-Again/dp/0... • Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann!: https://www.amazon.com/Surely-Youre-Joking-Mr-Feynman/dp/039... • Faster: https://www.amazon.com/Faster-Acceleration-Just-About-Everyt... • How We Got To Now: https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Got-Now-Innovations/dp/1594633...
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite audiobooks?” ↗James Gleick explores this theme in his very enjoyable book Faster, as part of a broader look at the accelerating pace of modern life. For the interested, the book's website is at http://fasterbook.com/ and the chapter about door close buttons is here: http://fasterbook.com/cgi-bin/faster/fchapter.pl?3
on “Placebo buttons: 'door-close' buttons, others, don't do anything” ↗I love everything by James Gleick. I recommend Faster, The Information, and Chaos.
on “Ask HN: Book recommendations?” ↗This reminds me of a book back from the nineties called "Faster" by James Gleick. There was a chapter on lifts being the limit to building height, although I seem to recall it was more down to shaft space rather than cable strength.
on “A new lightweight lift cable will let buildings soar ever upward” ↗