Title: RECM 475 Philosophy of Recreation Management Chapter 8 Time as Commodity
1RECM 475Philosophy of Recreation
ManagementChapter 8 Time as Commodity
2Chapter 8 Time Based on the Universe
3Chapter 8 Time Based on the Universe
- Cyclical phenomenon governed our sense of time
- The sun, the moon, the earths rotation, all
marked the passage of time - People, animals, and all living things appeared,
aged, and died - Time passed with regularity, uniformity, and
indifference
4Chapter 8 Sunrise to Sunset
5Chapter 8 Sunrise to Sunset
- The passage of the day was rooted in the changes
which occurred in the natural, physical world. - The sun rose and set
- The tides came in and out
- The seasons changed
- It was hot, dry, wet, cold
6Chapter 8 The Solar Eclipse and Time
7Chapter 8 The Solar Eclipse and Time
- Disruptions to normal patterns were feared
- The eclipse of the sun was an indication that the
Gods were unhappy, the world would end, or time
would stand still - Mysticism sprang from natural if misunderstood
phenomenon - Clearly man was not in control
8Chapter 8 The Clock Seizes the Day
9Chapter 8 The Clock
- Seeking uniformity and predefined order to the
day, technological advances brought the clock - The sun dial gave way to the mechanical clock
which was cloud, rain, and storm proof - Time became linear and predictable
- Control of time made the industrial revolution a
reality
10Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- Ironic though it may be, one of the great hopes
for the industrial age was that man through
increased productivity would gain more leisure - Civilization would produce more with less labor
- More food
- More goods
- More societal benefits
- Mankind would gain time to contemplate life, to
solve the worlds great mysteries
11Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- Reality though proved to be less satisfactory to
humanity - Technological advances brought more and better
products it produced a new series of WANTS - A new car
- Air conditioning
- A summer home
- A bigger TV
- Lobster from South Africa
- Cheese from Denmark
- Tomatoes in February
12Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- Wants produced Needs
- Needs produced higher expectations which required
higher incomes resulting from increased education
and specialization - Man became a slave to his possessions
- Time was marked as earnings (dollars per hour),
appointments in thirty minute segments, sales
calls, billable hours, working breakfasts,
lunches, and dinners - Multi-tasking is invented as a way to cheat time
- to accomplish more within the same allotted time
13Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- The Rats raced and humanity lost
- Economic growth became dependent on the scarcity
of time - Replace it dont fix it became the mantra for
more and more production - Cheaper and cheaper goods with a disposable
intent - The household telephone and TV
- The hand mixer
- The hair dryer
- Shoes and socks
- Hose
- Time saving devices and goods
- Fast food
- The Microwave oven
- The TV dinner, Lean Cuisine, Pizza delivery
- Drive thru banking
- E-commerce
- Online shopping and banking
14Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- The modern world races on a 24-7 schedule
- I want it now, cheap, and delivered to my door
- Wal-Mart and grocery chains that stay open all of
the time - Shopping at 2am
- Restaurants and bars that never close
- Around the clock entertainment
- On demand movies
- Cable networks that stay on the air around the
clock - Instant weather forecasts
15Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- Further advances have presented their own
problems - Computers have produced production efficiencies
- VDT Operator key stroke averages increased from
30,000 to 80,000 per hour - Secretaries and clerks became obsolete
professions - Paper letters and memos were replaced with
electronic, instant communications - Professionals manage their own data, their own
files, type their own emails, book their own
flights, hotels, rental cars, pay their own
credit car bills, have their own heart by-passes
and stroke out by the thousands..
16Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- Medical advances allow us to cheat aging and thus
the passage of time - Inverto-fertilization allows women to have
children much later in life than biology would
dictate - Heart and hair transplants
- Face lifts and tummy tucks
- Sleep less, work more
- Take a pill to go to sleep or to stay up longer
- Exist on caffeine and sugar
- Live with a constant buzz, on the edge
- Overall, better nutrition, exercise, proper diet,
all allow men and women to live longer if not
more graciously
17Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- Thus, time has become mans master
- Schedules govern existence
- Efficiency is measured in productivity per hour,
day, month, year - Time is money
- Time is scarce
18Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- This scarcity of time has brought reinforcement
to the leisure-work paradigm - Our institutions of work shape leisure and the
rest of life - Thinking of scarcity only in material terms is
obsolete - The most important way we think about modern time
is our perception of it - Just as time became more regulated at work so did
our leisure time become a slave to the clock - No longer is leisure viewed as it was as
tranquil, peaceful or timeless, now it a
commodity to be scheduled, timed with predictable
outcomes, bought and sold in units like slaves of
the 19th century - Work-outs at the gyms
- Movies at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9
- Two week vacations
- Resorts with wireless connectivity, fax machines
and copiers in the business service center, and
international cell phone coverage
19Chapter 8 A Modern Sense of Urgency
- Yet, what we can not easily cheat though is our
biological diurnal cycles - Our natural performance is influenced by the time
of day, by our exposure to sunlight, by the
phases of the moon - All of our chemical and technological attempts to
change this shorten our lives and disrupt our
sense of inner peace and harmony - Through modern advances we bring chaos into our
lives and reshape our expectations for happiness
and self-fulfillment - We are not machines
20Chapter 8 Regaining Time
- Thus, like the basset on the beach, there is much
to be said for chilling and relaxing as the true
paths to - self-fulfillment.
21Chapter 8