Our Instant Life

Milton J. Peabody is the name, speed is the game. Milton wakes up early each and every morning. He has to. He has a lot to do. First there's a 30-second shower, then the clip-on tie, and the pop-tart breakfast as he rushes out the door. Radar detector: on. Gas pedal: down. If you don't make the green arrow on Third and Broadway, the wait seems like an eternity. It's a drive-thru-coffee, cell-phone-to-the-ear, clutch-popping morning. Do you feel the rush? Is the music fast enough for you? If not, quick try a different station.

Damn the elevator! Use the alternate plan: stairs -- two at a time. Be sure to check the e-mail before the videoconference starts. Might have missed something that happened overnight. Got to maintain that edge you know. FedEx arrives at ten -- just in the nick of time. Lunch arrives in a bag -- five minutes late so it's free. Delivery guy didn't quite make the light on Third and Broadway.

Better order the anniversary present on-line. It should be delivered in 12 hours. Log on in a few hours to track its trip across the country. Very reassuring. Now hale the cab and run to the gate. It's a non-stop flight of course. Don't check any luggage if possible (who wants to stand looking at a conveyor belt for 20 minutes?). The report is completed and faxed before landing. One nice thing about the Hilton is the express check-in and food is already in the room. Speed dial home. Good night everyone. Is this still the same day that started this morning? Damn I'm good!

Milton has a brother named Henry. The family doesn't talk much about Henry. He's a monk in Iowa. Do you believe it? What a loser! He gets up just as early as Milton, but meditates for two hours. Doesn't that make you just a little nervous? Henry eats breakfast slowly -- usually fresh-baked bread and marmalade. He takes long walks and teaches a course in medieval history. Never shows up for meetings on time. Henry thinks Federal Express is a train. He goes to bed…when he is tired. Poor Henry. He's so…slow.

Milton has a daughter named Eva. Eva teaches biology. Her class is working on their big semester project. Eva explains that insects are one of the most successful life forms on earth.

The ant farm sits on the workbench. The bulbs are hooked up to a rheostat. Worker ant activity at 70 degrees: noted. Worker ant activity at 110 degrees: twice as fast!! Worker ant activity at 150 degrees: chaotic, Brownian, unproductive. The question on the final exam will be: Is there an optimum level of activity for worker ants?

Fact: Speed is addicting. Speed disease is also highly contagious. Studies have shown that it is passed from person to person by use of the "door close" buttons on elevators. Have you been exposed? James Gleick has written a book called "Faster - The Acceleration of Just About Everything" (Pantheon Books, 1999). It is a superficial but scary documentation of the increasing speed of human activity. Just reading this book can make one feel nervous. Try it -- if you have time.

Speed breeds more speed. "The historical record shows that humans never, ever opted for slower," says historian Stephen Kern. It is not unlike a craving for chocolate or heroin. The alternative, boredom, is much too scary to deal with.

But can we change this -- or should we? A speeding car may be unsafe. A speeding ambulance may save a life. A pizza in 30 minutes may be nice, but assembling a cath team in 30 minutes may be critical. Perhaps we need to do a better job of sorting out where speed is really useful and where it is counter-productive. Perhaps we need to do a better job of protecting those jobs really require great hustle and speed -- lest they fatigue and lose their grip.

And so it goes. The New York Philharmonic offers compressed "rush hour concerts." Computer speeds increase almost daily. Software programs take non-essential words out of phone conversations. Millisecond electronic decision-making inside a telephone switch decides who gets concert tickets and who does not. Fast-forward buttons allow one to digest movies in half the time.

But what if FedEx never existed? What if we had to dial the phone? What if Domino's delivered in 45 minutes? What if all the beepers in the world stopped beeping? Could we stand it? Can you smell the coffee? Can you taste the marmalade? Does anyone know the answer to the question on the final exam?

"Reflections" is a collection of essays by the health professionals of the Medical College of Wisconsin.