--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The microwave oven is one of the modern…" description: "\"The microwave oven is one of the modern objects that convey the most elemental feeling of power over the passing seconds ... If you suffer from hurry s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/james-gleick-2623_elementals_the-microwave-oven-is-one-of-the-modern_2939706.jpg" --- # The microwave oven is one of the modern objects that… ![“The microwave oven is one of the modern objects that convey the most elemental feeling of power over the passing seconds ... If you suffer from hurry sickness in its most advanced stages, you may find yourself punching 88 seconds instead of 90 because it is faster to tap the same digit twice.” quote by James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/james-gleick-2623_elementals_the-microwave-oven-is-one-of-the-modern_2939706.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/james-gleick-2623_elementals_the-microwave-oven-is-one-of-the-modern_2939706.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/james-gleick-2623_elementals_the-microwave-oven-is-one-of-the-modern_2939706.jpg) > “The microwave oven is one of the modern objects that convey the most elemental feeling of power over the passing seconds ... If you suffer from hurry sickness in its most advanced stages, you may find yourself punching 88 seconds instead of 90 because it is faster to tap the same digit twice.” [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The microwave is described as a symbol of power over time, with users impatiently speeding up actions. **In simple terms:** Microwaves make us feel powerful over seconds, prompting haste. Key Takeaway Mindful use of technology. Themes technology time power behavior Mood observant critical Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - kitchen routines - workplace efficiency - digital habits - product design Key Concepts human‑computer interaction psychology of speed design ergonomics Questions to Reflect On - How does tech influence our sense of urgency? - What habits can restore mindful pacing? A Different Perspective Speed focus can reduce patience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elementals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elementals/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Finding yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-yourself/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Owning a computer without programming is like having a kitchen and using only the microwave oven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-petzold/owning-a-computer-without-programming-is-like-having-a-kitchen-and/) [Charles Petzold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-petzold/) > [They say you're not supposed to put metal in a microwave oven. They're right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/they-say-you-re-not-supposed-to-put-metal-in-a-microwave-oven-they-re/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [The New Age? Its just the old age stuck in a microwave oven for fifteen seconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-randi/the-new-age-its-just-the-old-age-stuck-in-a-microwave-oven-for/) [James Randi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-randi/) > [We are a nation that shouts at a microwave oven to hurry up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-ryan/we-are-a-nation-that-shouts-at-a-microwave-oven-to-hurry-up/) [Joan Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-ryan/) > [The radiation left over from the Big Bang is the same as that in your microwave oven but very much less powerful. It would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-radiation-left-over-from-the-big-bang-is-the-same-as-that-in-your/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I don't have a microwave oven, but I do have a clock that occasionally cooks stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-have-a-microwave-oven-but-i-do-have-a-clock-that-occasionally/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I put instant coffee in a microwave oven and almost went back in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-put-instant-coffee-in-a-microwave-oven-and-almost-went-back-in-time/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I very briefly had a microwave oven that I quickly gave away, because I could never work out what they do better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-may/i-very-briefly-had-a-microwave-oven-that-i-quickly-gave-away-because/) [James May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-may/) > [“you don’t need to understand any of the biology, just as you don’t need to understand radiation to use a microwave oven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/you-don-t-need-to-understand-any-of-the-biology-just-as-you-don-t/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [The New Age? It's just the old age stuck in a microwave oven for fifteen seconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-randi/the-new-age-it-s-just-the-old-age-stuck-in-a-microwave-oven-for/) [James Randi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-randi/) > [They say you're not supposed to Put silver wear in a microwave oven...They were right...I'm missing a wall in my kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-you-re-not-supposed-to-put-silver-wear-in-a-microwave-oven/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“he was keeping track of time. It was nearly two hours since he had last looked at his watch, but he knew what time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/he-was-keeping-track-of-time-it-was-nearly-two-hours-since-he-had/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [A diet is when you have to spend your seconds instead of minutes at the table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-diet-is-when-you-have-to-spend-your-seconds-instead-of-minutes-at/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [It is ludicrous to read the microwave direction on the boxes of food you buy, as each one will have a disclaimer: THIS WILL…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/it-is-ludicrous-to-read-the-microwave-direction-on-the-boxes-of-food/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [It's not the microwave that's the problem, it's what people put into them. I know people lead busy lives but they should try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-blanc/it-s-not-the-microwave-that-s-the-problem-it-s-what-people-put-into/) [Raymond Blanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-blanc/) ## More by James Gleick > [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“No one has even a definitive spelling for Cawdrey’s name (Cowdrey, Cawdry). But then, no one agreed on the spelling of most names: they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/no-one-has-even-a-definitive-spelling-for-cawdrey-s-name-cowdrey/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Where, then, is any particular gene—say, the gene for long legs in humans? This is a little like asking where is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/where-then-is-any-particular-gene-say-the-gene-for-long-legs-in/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. 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It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/your-body-moves-always-in-the-present-the-dividing-line-between-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“The Difference Engine stands—for a replica works today, in the Science Museum in London—as a milestone of what could be achieved in precision engineering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-difference-engine-stands-for-a-replica-works-today-in-the-science/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [It is significant that one says book lover and music lover and art lover but not record lover or CD lover or, conversely, text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/it-is-significant-that-one-says-book-lover-and-music-lover-and-art/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“quoting Tolstoy: “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/quoting-tolstoy-i-know-that-most-men-including-those-at-ease-with/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) [Explore all 157 James Gleick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## More Elementals quotes > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. 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Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-energy-of-the-stars-becomes-us-we-become-the-energy-of-the-stars/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Spaces of liberation are, in a certain way, some kind of social spaces where people can not only get together and think about something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-gibson/spaces-of-liberation-are-in-a-certain-way-some-kind-of-social-spaces/) [Nigel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-gibson/) > [The soul of man is not a thing which comes and goes, is builded and decays like the elemental frame in which it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-soul-of-man-is-not-a-thing-which-comes-and-goes-is-builded-and/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Here is one of the fundamental defects of American fiction--perhaps the one character that sets it off sharply from all other known kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/here-is-one-of-the-fundamental-defects-of-american-fiction-perhaps/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [All such action would cease if those powerful elemental forces were to cease stirring within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/all-such-action-would-cease-if-those-powerful-elemental-forces-were/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Running is special. We've all done it: well, poorly, focused, in fear, being pursued, toward a goal. It's just elemental. Running is like fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-delaney/running-is-special-we-ve-all-done-it-well-poorly-focused-in-fear/) [Rob Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-delaney/) > [Who dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time & Space through images juxtaposed, and trapped the archangel of the soul between 2 visual images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/who-dreamt-and-made-incarnate-gaps-in-time-space-through-images/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [By firm immutable immortal laws Impress'd on Nature by the GREAT FIRST CAUSE, Say, MUSE! how rose from elemental strife Organic forms, and kindled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/by-firm-immutable-immortal-laws-impress-d-on-nature-by-the-great/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [There is no lasting happiness outside the prescribed cycle of painful exhaustion and pleasurable regeneration, and whatever throws this cycle out of balance –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-no-lasting-happiness-outside-the-prescribed-cycle-of-painful/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [motherhood is the great mesh in which all human relations are entangled, in which lurk our most elemental assumptions about love and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/motherhood-is-the-great-mesh-in-which-all-human-relations-are/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [However it may be confounded or covered up or counterfeited, this elemental capacity to fight against injustice remains the distinguishing characteristic of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/however-it-may-be-confounded-or-covered-up-or-counterfeited-this/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 149 Elementals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elementals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The microwave oven is one of the modern objects that convey the most elemental feeling of power over the passing seconds ... 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