--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The multiplication of technologies in the…" description: "\"“The multiplication of technologies in the name of efficiency is actually eradicating free time by making it possible to maximize the time and place fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/rebecca-solnit-569_daydreaming_the-multiplication-of-technologies-in-th_1690871.jpg" --- # The multiplication of technologies in the name of… ![“The multiplication of technologies in the name of efficiency is actually eradicating free time by making it possible to maximize the time and place for production and minimize the unstructured travel time in between…Too, the rhetoric of efficiency around these technologies suggests that what…” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/rebecca-solnit-569_daydreaming_the-multiplication-of-technologies-in-th_1690871.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/rebecca-solnit-569_daydreaming_the-multiplication-of-technologies-in-th_1690871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/rebecca-solnit-569_daydreaming_the-multiplication-of-technologies-in-th_1690871.jpg) > ““The multiplication of technologies in the name of efficiency is actually eradicating free time by making it possible to maximize the time and place for production and minimize the unstructured travel time in between…Too, the rhetoric of efficiency around these technologies suggests that what cannot be quantified cannot be valued-that that vast array of pleasures which fall into the category of doing nothing in particular, of woolgathering, cloud-gazing, wandering, window-shopping, are nothing but voids to be filled by something more definite, more production, or faster-paced…I like walking because it is slow, and I suspect that the mind, like the feet, works at about three miles an hour. If this is so, then modern life is moving faster than the speed of thought or thoughtfulness.”” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques how efficiency‑driven tech erodes unstructured leisure, arguing that slow, aimless activities are essential for mental health. **In simple terms:** Tech efficiency steals unstructured time needed for mental well‑being. Key Takeaway Value slow, aimless moments. Themes efficiency technology leisure mindfulness culture Mood reflective contemplative Type essay philosophical When to use this quote - Urban commuting - remote work - creative brainstorming - personal downtime Key Concepts time economics cognitive health digital overload Questions to Reflect On - What unstructured activities restore your focus? - How can we balance efficiency with mental health? A Different Perspective May romanticize idleness without addressing productivity needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Efficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efficiency/) [Free time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-time/) [Modern life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-life/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Modern life is moving faster than the speed of thought, or thoughtfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/modern-life-is-moving-faster-than-the-speed-of-thought-or/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I like walking because it is slow, and I suspect that the mind, like the feet, works at about three miles an hour. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-like-walking-because-it-is-slow-and-i-suspect-that-the-mind-like/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Life is moving fast where the fuck do all these minutes go?!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/life-is-moving-fast-where-the-fuck-do-all-these-minutes-go/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [It would not be long ere the whole surface of this country would be channelled for those nerves which are to diffuse, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-morse/it-would-not-be-long-ere-the-whole-surface-of-this-country-would-be/) [Samuel Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-morse/) > [For instance, in 1999, Bill Gates not only published a new book on work at the speed of thought but also detailed how Microsoft's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/for-instance-in-1999-bill-gates-not-only-published-a-new-book-on-work/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The only thing faster than the speed of thought is the speed of forgetfulness. Good thing we have other people to help us remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-only-thing-faster-than-the-speed-of-thought-is-the-speed-of/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [You can travel with the speed of thought! You just think you're on Jupiter and you're there, boom! You just think you're on Saturn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berg/you-can-travel-with-the-speed-of-thought-you-just-think-you-re-on/) [David Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berg/) > [“the speed of the tongue should always be some seconds behind the speed of thought, but certainly not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-speed-of-the-tongue-should-always-be-some-seconds-behind-the/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Even in my youth, my speed of thought was better than others' in some situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-kimmich/even-in-my-youth-my-speed-of-thought-was-better-than-others-in-some/) [Joshua Kimmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-kimmich/) > [“I skim through time and space at the speed of thought. The unknown is my prey, I bring it to earth in a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/i-skim-through-time-and-space-at-the-speed-of-thought-the-unknown-is/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [We don't think of Messi as a speedster. It is his speed of thought that impresses us as much as anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sutton/we-don-t-think-of-messi-as-a-speedster-it-is-his-speed-of-thought/) [Chris Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sutton/) > [If we could communicate at the speed of thought, we can augment our creativity with the low-level stuff that AI and robots and 3-D…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lou-jepsen/if-we-could-communicate-at-the-speed-of-thought-we-can-augment-our/) [Mary Lou Jepsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lou-jepsen/) > [The most important thing for a forward is speed of thought. Top players read the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-eto-o/the-most-important-thing-for-a-forward-is-speed-of-thought-top/) [Samuel Eto'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-eto-o/) > [People have no idea how hard football is, absolutely no idea. It's all about pace. You can say, 'Yeah, you've got speed of thought'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/people-have-no-idea-how-hard-football-is-absolutely-no-idea-it-s-all/) [Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put ourself in their story, or figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-love-someone-is-to-put-yourself-in-their-place-we-say-which-is-to/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I wonder now about Demeter and Persephone. Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More Daydreaming quotes > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [An excessive preponderance of an idealistic mood is harmful to society: it creates daydreaming, political Don Quixotism, hope for heavenly intervention. This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [Sometimes the worst thing that can happen is, 'Oh, I'm on stage playing a song,' because you're daydreaming about something else, you're on autopilot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/sometimes-the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-is-oh-i-m-on-stage-playing/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [“... stability prevents daydreaming about 'what if...' and inserts us totally into what we are doing, causing us to live with a new intensity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wilkes/stability-prevents-daydreaming-about-what-if-and-inserts-us-totally/) [Paul Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wilkes/) > [Do not confuse fantasy with imagination; the former consumes itself in daydreaming, the latter stimulates creativity in the arts and in the sciences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fausto-cercignani/do-not-confuse-fantasy-with-imagination-the-former-consumes-itself-in/) [Fausto Cercignani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fausto-cercignani/) > [He is a great enough magician to tap our most common nightmares, daydreams and twilight fancies, but he never invented them either: he found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/he-is-a-great-enough-magician-to-tap-our-most-common-nightmares/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [When the writing is really working, I think there is something like dreaming going on. I don't know how to draw the line between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/when-the-writing-is-really-working-i-think-there-is-something-like/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) > [The only big ideas I've ever had came from daydreaming, but modern life keeps people from daydreaming. Every moment of the day your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-maccready/the-only-big-ideas-i-ve-ever-had-came-from-daydreaming-but-modern/) [Paul MacCready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-maccready/) > [“Kids are naturally curious about the world around them. Everything is fascinating and holds their attention as they explore their new surroundings. Adults however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-murphy/kids-are-naturally-curious-about-the-world-around-them-everything-is/) [James A. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-murphy/) > [A writer, or at least a poet, is always being asked by people who should know better: “Whom do you write for?” The question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-writer-or-at-least-a-poet-is-always-being-asked-by-people-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'll listen to a song so much that ideas start to form out of daydreaming. It's as if I'm reverse-scoring the track and building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiro-murai/i-ll-listen-to-a-song-so-much-that-ideas-start-to-form-out-of/) [Hiro Murai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiro-murai/) > [If you've never stared off in the distance, then your life is a shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/if-you-ve-never-stared-off-in-the-distance-then-your-life-is-a-shame/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [Without its daydreams, the self is apt to shrink down to the size and shape of the estimation of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/without-its-daydreams-the-self-is-apt-to-shrink-down-to-the-size-and/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Daydreaming had started me on the way; but story writing, once I was truly in its grip, took me and shook me awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/daydreaming-had-started-me-on-the-way-but-story-writing-once-i-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [The real thing, when done right , is always better than a daydream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/the-real-thing-when-done-right-is-always-better-than-a-daydream/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) Browse all 333 Daydreaming quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The multiplication of technologies in the name of efficiency is actually eradicating free time by making it possible to maximize the time and place for production and minimize the unstructured travel time in between…Too, the rhetoric of efficiency around these technologies suggests that what cannot be quantified cannot be valued-that that vast array of pleasures which fall into the category of doing nothing in particular, of woolgathering, cloud-gazing, wandering, window-shopping, are nothing but voids to be filled by something more definite, more production, or faster-paced…I like walking because it is slow, and I suspect that the mind, like the feet, works at about three miles an hour. 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