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Finished product Quote by Charles Le Gai Eaton

“Everything becomes a blur when you travel beyond a certain speed. Distant objects may still be clear in outline, but the blurred foreground makes it impossible to attend to them. This landscape is unreal and the passengers in the express train turn to their books, their thoughts or their private…” quote by Charles Le Gai Eaton
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““Everything becomes a blur when you travel beyond a certain speed. Distant objects may still be clear in outline, but the blurred foreground makes it impossible to attend to them. This landscape is unreal and the passengers in the express train turn to their books, their thoughts or their private fantasies. The subjectivism of our age has a good deal to do with this imprisonment in a speeding vehicle, and the fact that we made this vehicle ourselves, with all the tireless care that children give to a contrivance of wood and wire, does not save us from the sense of being trapped without hope of escape. A further effect of such vertiginous speed is a kind of anaesthesia, entirely natural when the operation of the senses by which we normally make contact with our environment is suspended. With no opportunity to assimilate what is going on, our powers of assimilation are inevitably weakened and certain numbness sets in; nothing is fully savoured and nothing is properly understood. Even fear (which exists to forewarn us of danger) is suspended. This would be so even if speed of change were the only factor involved, but the kind of environment in which a large part of humanity lives today --- the environment created by technology at the service of immediate, short-term needs – does much to intensify this effect. Outside of works of art which embody something beyond our physical needs, our own constructions bore us. Those who, when they have built something and admired the finished product for a decent moment, are ready to pull it down and start on something new have good sense on their side.””

Charles Le Gai Eaton

About This Quote

Source Essay: The Speed of Modern Life, 1990s

Excessive speed in modern life numbs perception, isolates individuals, and erodes deep experience.

In simple terms: Fast pace dulls senses and isolates people.

Key Takeaway

Seek slower, mindful engagement.

Themes

technology speed alienation perception

Mood

reflective melancholic critical

Type

philosophical critical

When to use this quote

  • commuting
  • digital work
  • urban living
  • high‑speed travel

Key Concepts

philosophy modernity sensory overload

Questions to Reflect On

  • What practices restore presence in fast environments?
  • How does speed affect emotional health?
A Different Perspective

Speed can also increase efficiency and connectivity.

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