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Øyeblikkets tyranni

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The turn of the millennium is characterized by exponential growth in everything related to communication - from the Internet and email to air travel. "The Tyranny of the Moment" deals with some of the most perplexing paradoxes of this new information age. Who would have expected that apparently timesaving technology results in time being scarcer than ever? And has this seemingly limitless access to information led to confusion rather than enlightenment?

Thomas Eriksen argues that slow time - private periods where we are able to think and correspond coherently without interruption - is now one of the most precious resources we have, and it is becoming a major political issue. Since we are now theoretically "online" 24 hours a day, we must fight for the right to be unavailable - the right to live and think more slowly. It is not only that working hours have become longer - Eriksen also shows how the logic of this new information technology has, in the space of just a few years, permeated every area of our lives. This is equally true for those living in poorer parts of the globe usually depicted as outside the reaches of the information age, as well as those in the West.

Exploring phenomena such as the world wide web, WAP telephones, multi-channel television and email, "Tyranny of the Moment" examines this new, nonlinear and fragmented way of communicating to reveal the effect it has on working conditions in the new economy, changes in family life and, ultimately, personal identity. Eriksen argues that a culture lacking a sense of its past, and therefore of its future, is effectively static. Although solutions are suggested, he demonstrates that there is no easy way out.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

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About the author

Thomas Hylland Eriksen

86 books143 followers
Geir Thomas Hylland Eriksen was a Norwegian anthropologist known for his scholarly and popular writing on globalization, identity, ethnicity, and nationalism. He was Professor of Social Anthropology in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo. He has previously served as the President of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (2015–2016), as well as the Editor of Samtiden (1993–2001), Norsk antropologisk tidsskrift (1993–1997), the Journal of Peace Research, and Ethnos.
Hylland Eriksen was among the most prolific and highly cited anthropologists of his generation, and had been recognized for his remarkable success in bringing an anthropological perspective to a broader, non-academic audience. In Norway, Hylland Eriksen was a well-known public intellectual whose advocacy of diversity and cultural pluralism had earned both praise and scorn. Right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, cited Eriksen critically in his manifesto and during his 2012 trial.
In the academy and beyond, Hylland Eriksen had been highly decorated for his scholarship. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from Stockholm University (2011), the University of Copenhagen (2021), and Charles University in Prague (2021), as well as one of anthropology's most prestigious honors, the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography's Gold Medal (2022). He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for Kuszma.
2,849 reviews285 followers
November 12, 2024
Van ebben a könyvben egy megkapó metafora: hogy régen az ember kapott egy kupac lego kockát, mellé egy használati utasítást, és abból felépítette magát. Most meg ugyanúgy megkapja a lego kockákat, csak a használati utasítás elkallódott, és a tenger sok fragmentált információmorzsára (reklámokra, internetes megmondóemberekre, esetleges kósza apai intelmekre, stb.) támaszkodva magának kell kitalálnia, hogy akkor mi is legyen. Megmondom őszintén, szerintem ez izgalmas állapot. Felépíteni önmagam voltaképpen a szabadság, de mint minden szabadság, felelősség. És megértem, hogy valaki nem szereti a felelősséget, szeretné továbbra is, ha mindenféle hagyományok által ránk testált minták jelentenék a mankót az egzisztencia kialakításához. Megértem, mondom, csak azt nem szeretném, ha ebből azt a következtetést vonná le, hogy mindenki másnak is ezekhez a mintákhoz kéne tartania magát.

Amúgy meg engem ki lehet kergetni a világból a „régen-minden-jobb-vót”-monológokkal. Megj.: érdekes, akik az ilyesmiket szajkózzák, többnyire úgy képzelik el magukat, mint holmi arisztokratákat, akik termékeny elmélkedésekkel töltik a szálló perceket, esetleg valami kötetlen, de mindenképpen izgalmas dolgot végeznek el éppen. Pedig valószínűleg inkább lennének röghöz kötött jobbágyok, esetleg rövid életre ítélt munkások egy dickensi szénbányában. Magam is (családi hátteremet tekintve) száz éve vélhetően még arra lettem volna predesztinálva, hogy paradicsomot kapáljak – de ha egyszer nem akarok paradicsomot kapálni! Én ilyen könyveket akarok olvasni, leülni a gép elé, értékelést írni róluk, aztán beszélgetni az olvasottakról olyanokkal, akik amúgy esetleg 300 kilométerre laknak tőlem. Mindez anélkül az átalakulás nélkül, ami az információs társadalom kifejlésével járt, elképzelhetetlen lenne. Szóval elég nehéz ám engem meggyőzni arról, hogy az információs társadalom rossz. Eriksen pedig leszögezi, nincs efféle célja, egyszerűen csak szeretné felhívni a figyelmet ezeknek az átalakulásoknak a veszélyeire.

Fejtegetéseinek veleje, hogy amióta az idő elszakadt a konkrét cselekvéstől és globálisan mérhetővé vált, kitette magát a veszélynek, hogy fragmentálódjon. A modernitásban exponenciálisan megnövekedett az elérhető információk és lehetőségek száma, részben mert áthidalhatóvá tette a teret a közlekedés és a távközlés robbanásszerű fejlődésével. Ám a bőség zavara: a megnövekedett információmennyiség arra ösztönözte a társadalmat, hogy apró darabokra tördelje az időt, és így behozhatatlan előnyre tettek szert azok az információk, amelyek rövidebb idő alatt voltak befogadhatóak, mint társaik. Ebből szükségszerűen következett, hogy az emberi tudás szélesebb lett ugyan, de végtelenül felületes, és ez aztán gyakorlatilag az élet minden területén éreztette/érezteti hatását.

Hát így, erről szól ez a könyv. Jó volt. Okos, lendületes, szépen felépített és bőségesen meg van hintve mindenféle példákkal – ami azt illeti, legnagyobb hibája az, hogy rendszerint túl sok példával is illusztrálja ugyanazt a folyamatot. Nyilván Eriksen tisztában van azzal, hogy egyetlen általános tendenciát (a „pillanat diktatúráját”) mutatni be egy olyan korszakban, aminek legfőbb tendenciája éppen az, hogy nincs egyetlen tendencia, kockázat. Merthogy korunkban éppenséggel tendenciák zavarba ejtő sokasága közül választhatunk: hallgathatunk akár Marie Kondo-ra, a dalai lámára vagy a Hygge-professzorokra is, esetleg elmehetünk egy félreeső könyvesboltba dolgozni, ezzel pedig kiléphetünk a gyorsuló időből a lassúság honába, a kapitalizmus parkolópályájára. Persze lehet, ez nem igazi kilépés, csak annak látszata, egyéni döntés, ami eltörpül a fő társadalmi áramlatok mellett. De mostanában mintha a kézműves termékek reneszánszát élnénk, és hát nekem a manapság oly divatos, évadokon keresztül építkező televíziós sorozatok (és a gombamód szaporodó, rájuk épülő elméletek) is komplexebbeknek tűnnek, mint ami logikusan következne a korszak szétszórtságából és felületességéből. Ugyanakkor az is igaz, hogy a populista politikai áramlatok mintha éppen ezt a szétszórtságot lovagolnák meg: bár elméletileg a torzult modernitás ellen küzdenek, és a régi jó hagyományokat hoznák vissza, de valójában a modernitás édes gyermekei, és nem lehetnének sikeresek, ha a választópolgár hajlandó volna fél órát eltölteni azzal, hogy végiggondolja kiüresedett kampányszlogenjeik logikáját – illetve a logika hiányát, a szavak mögött tátongó ürességet –, ha nem a pillanat sugalmazására hozna érzelmi (félelmi) döntést, hanem összefüggéseiben megvizsgálva a kérdést bizonyos hosszú távú prioritásokat is figyelembe venne. És ha ennek az az ára, hogy időnként kikapcsoljuk a számítógépet, és egy-két-három-négy-öt órát eltöltünk netabsztinenciában egy jó könyv fölött, akkor én ezt hajlandó vagyok megfizetni. Csak utána beszéljük meg a tapasztalatainkat a facebookon.
Profile Image for Anna Wolfová.
136 reviews
Read
May 5, 2024
drinking game idea: take a shot every time the word "exponential" comes up

((the craziest thing about this is how current it is. despite the fact the book was published more than 20 years ago, which, in the technological age is like a billion years. this guy fucks))
Profile Image for Rebecca.
288 reviews
March 12, 2018
It's interesting to read a book from the cusp of the true internet-era today; and rather than going out of date, the book is remarkably prescient, identifying the trends that have led to our harried contemporary reality just as they were being felt for the first time. The suggestions he makes in the conclusion seem like utopian fantasies to me, which is too bad, because they are good ideas. For example: I would like govt. and labor contract rules limiting the degree to which people are required to be responsive to emails.
Profile Image for Geir Ertzgaard.
282 reviews13 followers
October 5, 2024
En av de bøkene jeg har lest som har betydd mest for meg. Budskapet er grunnleggende "skru ned tempoet", du kan bare leve ett liv om gangen. Begrepet stabling kom inn i mitt vokabular etter denne boken, og det har vært der siden, som en påminnelse om hva jeg bør leve etter, og hva jeg ikke lever etter.....
Profile Image for A prince from Serendip.
5 reviews
August 23, 2016
A book everyone who lives in the "information age" should read. Eriksen presents the complications brought on by the technical innovations of the late twentieth century (and onwards), in a time when most people are concerned about how we can further proceed with our innovations. In order to describe our present(which he refers to as the "information age"), Eriksen describes the past, thus providing a good overview on what shaped the twentieth century, and why technology developed as it did.

Even though this book was written in 2001, it's still highly applicable to our present. If anything, the book might even appeal to more people today than it did back in 2001, regarding the huge rise of cellular use, laptops and technological devices in general. Interesting are also Eriksen's predictions on the comming decades, where one can say his succession rate is on about 50%(more or less). Some of his predictions can be described as rather unfortunate though, but they are nowhere near undermining the central points of the book. More than anything, they give you a good laugh.

It would be interesting to read a renovated version with added chapters on for instance social media and the rise of technology in schools, which would make this book even more relevant in our current day and age. Knowing Eriksen though, he probably has too many emails to send making it difficult to find the time to write a whole new chapter, not to mention re-publishing an entire book.


Profile Image for Una.
181 reviews38 followers
March 22, 2013
Interesanta un svarīga grāmata, ko būtu vajadzējis izlasīt pirms vairākiem gadiem. Sarakstīta ap 2000. gadu; tehnoloģijas, par ko viņš raksta, protams, ir mainījušās, bet ietekmes uz cilvēku dzīvi un domāšanu tikai pastiprinājušās.

Dažas atziņas:
1. Mūsdienās problēma nav tikt pie informācijas, bet atlasīt svarīgo.
2. Kad nav noteikta darbalaika, nav arī brīvā laika. Ja vien to apzināti neatdala.
3. Laiks sadrūp sīkumos, iespēja ilgāku laiku nodoties kādam lielam darbam kļūst par luksusu.
4. Tas maina domāšanu: mēs domājam fragmentāri, par vairākām lietām vienlaikus, īsos impulsos, bet grūtāk kļūst iedziļināties.
5. Ēriksens ar šo saista arī īstu pārdzīvojumu deficītu (tādu, kas nebūtu pakļauti ironijai vai masu mediju ierosināti).
6. Ja šo apzinās, ir iespējams pretoties. Un, iespējams, lēnā laika robežu nospraušana ir svarīgākais uzdevums, lai saglabātu (radītu?) visus normālos dzīves aspektus.

Izlasiet visu pašā grāmatā. ;) Un pēc tam iedrošinieties uzrakstīt papīra vēstuli, iziet garā pastaigā vai noklausīties Bēthovena simfoniju. Visu.
Profile Image for Gintaute Riabovaite.
67 reviews29 followers
September 23, 2022
Nors knyga parašyta prieš beveik 20 metų, tačiau jos aktualumas tik dar labiau sustiprėjęs. Labai norėtųsi paskaityti tokią knygą parašytą šiandienai, kad suvokti dar didesnį problemos mąstą. Autorius įtaigiai, įtraukiant į netikėtą kontekstą, kartais atrodo vedant per labai aplinkui paaiškina kaip pasikeitė mąstymo greitis per pastaruosius šimtmečius ir kokią žalą tai daro visuomenei.
Profile Image for Ingvild Lillemoen Hjelle.
34 reviews1 follower
June 29, 2025
Viktig lesing, kan virkelig anbefales! Sykt at den er skrevet for 20 år siden men fortsatt er megarelevant. Langsomheten må beskyttes!!
Profile Image for Hulda.
Author 12 books1 follower
Read
January 17, 2015
Thomas Hylland Eriksen nevnte på et foredrag ved UiO i fjor høst at denne boka ironisk nok var utdatert allerede da den ble utgitt. Likevel skisserer den et viktig tidsbilde og er strengt tatt mer aktuell i dag enn på tidlig 2000-tall. (Dessuten ble jeg litt nostalgisk av å tenke på WAP-telefoner og telefaxer.)

Langsom tid nå! er kampropet i siste kapittel. Dette er verdt å ta til seg, for i vår distraherte tidsalder blir ansvaret for livskvalitet og mening overlatt individet. I avisene står det om ungdommer som ikke klarer å gi faen, de skal få med seg alt og være best og vise alle hva de kan. Middelmådighet er et nederlag.

Den fornemmelsen kan jeg lett kjenne igjen, men magefølelsen forteller meg samtidig at bevisstløshet og hastverk gjennom livet er en langt større ulykke. Så jeg er svært fornøyd med de timene jeg brukte på å lese "Øyeblikkets tyranni".
Profile Image for Ivana.
283 reviews58 followers
July 17, 2016
A už len naozaj začať brániť svoj pomalý čas a rýchly využívať ako rýchly a nie zacyklený.
Profile Image for Mark Valentine.
2,087 reviews28 followers
January 8, 2023
Eriksen writes about the excessive acceleration in our age, along with the exponential growth, and what he terms, "stacking"--the rolling, random bits of information we would now call scrolling (FB, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) and how they all serve to improve our arcane knowledge while zapping any productivity and meaning from our lives. As a cultural critic, Eriksen is right on. I wish he would turn up the heat because he seemed a little reserved in his criticism.

The book is more than dated because he reviews technologies and yet the heart of his criticism has aged incredibly well. We are living in too much fast time. It is becoming harder and harder to live in slow time. In honor of reading this book, I am going to make a dedicated effort to read more larger novels--Dickens, Hardy, Trollope, Dostoyevsky, Pynchon, Irving, Proust, Wouk, Zadie Smith, et al. He becomes nostalgic for writing with pen and paper.

In fact, maybe that is my criticism of Eriksen's critique of our age--he lapses into nostalgia rather than providing cues and clues for coping with this age that is only getting faster and faster. Granted, the final two pages he makes some suggestions, which seem quaint because they treat the symptoms (restrict social media from public transport, for example, is one).

I am curious about this: If Eriksen has updated or revised the book. With the advent of social media dominating the Internet, and the cult of personalities dominating it to the detriment of substantial dialogue and meaningful exchanges, I would love to have Eriksen revive his criticism with the latest.
Profile Image for Grzegorz.
8 reviews
October 10, 2021
Knygos vertimo, panašu, niekas neredagavo, nes redaktorius nenurodytas, o knygoje tokie "perliukai", kaip "rokas ir popas", "Lego kubeliai", vietoje "fjordas" parašytas "fiordas". Teko angliškame vertime ieškoti, kas turėta omenyje rašant "krovimas" (stacking). "The nimble stacking of blocks of decreasing size is a craft which spreads in many directions." verčiama "Vis mažesnių kubelių krovimas yra plačiai paplitęs reiškinys". Galbūt kažkas netiksliai pridėta angliškame vertime, bet jame sakinys sklandesnis ir turintis kitokį atspalvį bei prasmę. Be to, tekste daugybė tiesiog perrašytų, o ne išverstų anglicizmų - "akceleracinis", "imploziją", "ambivalencija" ir kt.
Pati knyga įsivažiuoja tik į pabaigą, tad jos pradžia perdėtai ilga ir skystoka. Idėjos, kita vertus, neabejotinai aktualios tiek tuomet, tiek dabar. Deja, autorius nekalba apie gyvenimo nuolatinio greitėjimo priežastis, tik vardina jo pasekmes.
Profile Image for Deimantė Jurkštaitė.
52 reviews6 followers
December 6, 2024
R.I.P. Mr. Thomas Hylland Eriksen. :(

Sunku įsivaizduoti, kad tokią knygą apie laiko pagreitį reikėjo išleisti jau 2001-iaisiais, kai viskam buvo tik pradžių pradžia.
"„Taigi K. Hamsunas amerikiečius apibūdino kaip nerimastingus. Šis žodis puikiai tinka ir mūsų dabarčiai apibūdinti. Kai nelieka laiko atokvėpiams ir pertraukoms, žmogus netenka galimybės atsiriboti nuo savo darbų ir pamatyti visumą. Jis paskęsta detalėse ir pameta bendrą vaizdą.“ 73p.
"Lėtas laikas nėra tas pats kaip daug laiko."181p.
"Nekantrumas dažnai kyla iš staigaus perėjimo nuo greitojo laiko prie lėtojo."168p.
pagrindinis informacinės visuomenės šalutinis reiškinį "būtų galima įvardinti kaip fragmentavimą, vis smulkesnį laiko skaidymą ir iš to kylantį vidinio ryšio praradimą." 164p.
"bendra ekonomikos, politikos ir mokslo vertybė yra efektyvumas" 175p.
44 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2019
Interessant, selv over 15år etter utgivelsen. Boken gir en fin innfallsvinkel på Eriksens syn på begynnelsen av 2000-tallet, med enkelte morsomme referanser. Særlig er henvisningen til WAP og potensiell klikkhysteri en presis antakelse om utviklingen av tekniske løsninger. Gir en fin indikasjon på verdien av tid. Det eneste jeg ikke fant like treffende til resten av boken var kapittelet om musikk.
Profile Image for Rūta  Duval.
1 review
November 3, 2024
Iš pradžių gan sunku įsivažiuoti, bet knyga yralabai įdomi, nors ir kažkiek mokslinė, bet parašyta lengva suprantama kalba. Autorius cituoja labai daug kitų rašytojų, sociologų, filosofų, taigi galima rasti nemažai naujų skaitinių laiko, greičio tema. Nors knyga parašyta prieš daugiau nei 20 metų yra labai aktuali ir šiandien, kai didžiąją dalį mūsų laiko atima technologijos ir internetas.
1 review
October 19, 2019
Interesting ideas, but a lot of unnecessary stuff, which the author probably likes but do not provide any benefits for the reader. Also, quite a few mathematical and statistical mistakes are present in this book (3rd print) which should not be the case in such a book.
Profile Image for Eva Haneborg.
111 reviews18 followers
July 14, 2021
Synes han har noen gode poenger. Oppfordringene hans er viktige og noe man dom enkeltperson bør prioritere. Kommer likevel med noen usaklige oppfordringer på slutten ift hva politikere bør gjøre med dette. Gir meg tilbakeblikk til Mark Fishers - Ghost of my life.
Profile Image for Sunniva Cecilie.
24 reviews
February 17, 2022
««Noe» har løpt løpsk. Det blir mer av alt, og det går fortere og fortere.»

Og akk, her skriver han om situasjonen for 21 år siden… Plukker opp denne regelmessig for å minne meg selv om viktigheten av «langsom tid»!
Profile Image for Filip.
12 reviews2 followers
August 14, 2013
Eriksen's book may have quite big impact when it was published, but unfortunately doesn't have much to say in 2013. I don't mean by that that the topic wouldn't be relevant today. Quite the contrary - it has probably never been more relevant than now, but Eriksen simply doesn't add anything interesting to what is already a huge topic of a public discussion. What I particularly dislike is a biased and one-sided approach that sounds like anything new is bad and anything old good (see for example his criticism of dance music). This unfortunately makes the book quite unreadable for young people despite they being the age group that should think about the inherent conflict between slow and fast time and about the impacts of the information age the most. Also, the chapter about proposed solutions seems naive, shallow and silly.
Profile Image for Madara.
29 reviews5 followers
March 11, 2014
Although the communication devices rapidly changed since 2000, book is still easy understandable for those who are born in "digital era".Author gives many samples, concept of time as something valuable. Something that's measurable and never enough. As devices steals so much time, can human find harmony of using em? He perfectly describes fulfillment of useless information as a junk food, trying to figure out what would stay valuable for next decade. Author does not moan "hey this is not going right" but makes logical conclusions without using complicated theories. Brilliant.
Profile Image for Amir Bardo.
24 reviews
December 19, 2015
This is a must-read book for today's society where we are constantly doing more and more things without really focusing on what is important. This book sums up many things about the benefits and hindrances of "fast time". It also gives some insight of why it could be important to slow down and take things easy.
120 reviews2 followers
February 6, 2010
Brilliant book! I can't believe I didn't put this into my list before since its influenced me so much. The paradoxes of our age and how the faster we go, the slower we are...very powerful. Others have written on this, but this is a really precise, revealing piece that is very easy to digest.
17 reviews3 followers
Read
December 22, 2011
A brilliant counter argument by an Anthropologist that dishes all the values that technology companies promise to the mankind. Speed, Efficiency and Productivity. It forces us to consider that not everyone around the world aspires what technology companies want us to believe we need.
28 reviews2 followers
August 27, 2012
A very good read about the way computers can have us whirling around without achieving anything. This book is a few years old so he doesn't talk about Facebook, Twitter or Wikipedia, that fount of unformation.
94 reviews
March 19, 2015
"Kiedy czas podzielony zostaje na odpowiednio małe kawałki, w końcu przestaje istnieć jako ciągłość. Na koniec nie ma już nic, poza rozkrzyczaną, przepełnioną chwilą, która tkwi w miejscu z szaloną prędkością"
Profile Image for Līga Sproģe.
Author 1 book110 followers
Want to read
April 14, 2023
"Exploring phenomena such as the world wide web, WAP telephones, multi-channel television and email, "Tyranny of the Moment" examines this new, nonlinear and fragmented way of communicating.. "

Lol, viņam likās, ka 2001.gadā ir traki :D :D
Profile Image for Vojtěch.
99 reviews16 followers
March 17, 2021
tohle je napsané tak jednoduše a hezky, že to člověk přečte děsně rychle, ačkoli by se to mělo číst pomalu.
jen to na mne občas až moc často vycházelo z jakýchsi obecných předpokladů, ale na popularizační knihu asi cajk.
Profile Image for Sara.
246 reviews5 followers
September 3, 2008
pretentious. the author makes a few very good points, but an unnecessarily difficult read.
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