Globalisation and virtualisation have initiated a world time that prefigures a new kind of tyranny…Tomorrow, our history will be played out in the universal time of the instantaneous.

So warned Paul Virilio in uncharacteristically lucid terms for a French philosopher.  Watching this talk from the CEO of Akamai (thanks to Dean over at Fusion Investing), it seems that we are about to make the next great leap forward.

What is intrinsically wrong with ‘real time’?

We are just not designed for it.  Our machines might operate in nano-seconds, but even our most instinctive reflexes, the literal blink of an eye, require multiples thereof.  With real time let loose on our waking selves, we are robbed of our ability to reflect.  And reflection is one of those attributes that sets us apart from our peers on the evolutionary tree.

If you feel rushed in your day then consider what this contribution from Blackberry is really trying to say:

Why is Blackberry essential for my business?  I can do more in less time…it goes on…On average Blackberry users recover an hour of downtime a workday

Now tell me what the hell is ‘downtime’?

Information dyssentry – where information passes straight through us as a stained and smelly liquid – is not what I want for my children.  Yet perhaps that is why I can see that the transhuman is so absolutely necessary.  Our offspring will manage the tyranny of real time with the aid of devices that we ancients would find truly abhorrent, but through this will retain the ability to reflect and to enjoy the sensual aspects of a fragrant meal and warm bed.  Just maybe?

Many years ago now, I was tripping through the aural canal that is the Guggenheim in New York having a look at a survey of abstract art in the 20th century.  As I climbed past the collections of exhaling rabbit furs, poo in boxes and spatial concepts, I marvelled at the ingenuity of these artists.  The meaning of these artworks was beyond simple comprehension (at least mine).  At the pinnacle of the climb, we were left with three white canvases side-by-side, all by different artists.  It was the point where meaning had become a white noise, the canvases were so heavy with intent that there was nothing left to say.

Now I know that this white canvas thing has a relatively long history (though for the life of me can’t remember the impressionist’s name who got there first), yet it has a relevance today that resonates.  We are bombarded with information.  The white noise is part of our everyday.

So to how Australian’s are seeking to solve this conundrum.  We are evolving a binary language.

It started a couple of year’s ago.  We introduced the concept surreptiously.  Talk to an Aussie about any non-trivial topic and they would respond, “Yeah, no, it’s… (relevant response)”.

The next step has begun.  There is a current moving through our society that has us saying not simply, “yes, no’, but “no no”.  Or “yes yes”.  Starting to see the pattern?  Pretty soon we will be able to have whole conversations (as if we don’t already in polite circles) where the conversation runs “yeah, no…no, no, no…yeah?”

We are ready for the automotons when they take over.  We already speak their language.

“Australians all let us rejoice…yeah, no, no, no, no, yeah”.