Prepare to view the world through a new lens - SPEED - a groundbreaking exploration that
challenges your perceptions of life's driving force from the internationally bestselling
author 'There is no author whose books I look forward to more' Bill Gates 'There is perhaps
no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil' Guardian In a world that feels
like it's moving faster than ever Smil examines how our relentless pursuit of speed - in areas
such as production travel and communication - shapes not only our technological landscape but
also our social and environmental realities. And through engaging anecdotes and striking
statistics Smil challenges the assumption that faster is always better. He invites readers to
reconsider the implications of our collective obsession with speed and its intricate
relationship with nature and innovation. For example he highlights the surprising fact that
erosion can actually accelerate mountain growth and he points out that the rapid adoption of
mobile phones - achieving 90 per cent penetration in just nineteen years - reflects historical
patterns of technological adoption suggesting that our world may not be moving significantly
faster than in the past. Whether exploring the tiny mites that can traverse 300 times their
body length in a second or the societal impacts of high-frequency trading Speed invites
readers to engage in a more balanced conversation about the role of speed in our lives in an
age defined by haste.
