Let’s hope this works. My first dashboard cam video. Julio rode along with me to Baltimore and we talked of, well, shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings. Somewhere along the way we figured out how to do the camera/mic thing without me causing an accident. Here’s a snippet: a discussion of island time vs. Mainland time. If you’ve lived on or visited an island (SMALL, UK doesn’t count), weigh in.
Island Time vs. Mainland Time
May 3, 2011 By
About Tempo
Cabbages and kings indeed. Though visiting the co working location in Baltimore was the main reason for the trip, the conversation was the best part.
Regarding Tempo we discussed situation awareness and the human sensory system, disrupting a narrative, mental models, and of course, island time.
We also had some interesting conversation more relevant to ribbonfarm.com regarding emergence, groupthink, and salary negotiations as a signal.
Maybe the inertia comes from people’s mental models rarely brushing against those of the people on mainland. No input no movement. The people that like that, or adjust to it, stay on the island. The others are evaporatively cooled.
Anecdotal evidence: The Netherlands have a few islands at the coast. They calculated that a bridge between the largest island to the mainland would be an economic benefit. Nearly everyone on the island was against it: they preferred a ferry, because than “the island is closed at night.” They meant: closed. The bridge would turn it into just another beach town, including strangers looking for a quick party.
I think the inertia works both ways. I suspect that should ‘mainland’ folks be forced to slow down, stop checking their damn watches all the time the resistance would be just as strong. :)