„ Speed limits?“

Can our ancient organisms still fit into modern times?

Lecture as a Dialogue between Gerd Folkers and Helmut Milz

“The times they are a-changin” (B.Dylan). Global economy speeds up our times – act immediately, in realtime, turbo, non-stop, always available, fast food, power naps, speed dating, finally a drive through funeral. Accelerating speed changes the environments and spaces in which we move – in straight lines, on flat surfaces, with no hindrance or resistance, always direct access. More modern humans spend most of their live sitting, with long hours in front of screens, computerized, even flexible or portable “workstations”, with their eyes fixed in a constant distance, being engaged in restless, simultaneous multitasking.

Chronobiology research shows how our inborn, fine-tuned “rhythms” cooperate in (re)balancing the organism`s homeostasis. These processes act in an ordered, sequenced timing. They need their time, independent from our will. Do we still allow us enough time to balance our rhythms of rest and excess, of an accelerating and decelerating life, which may be our “last chance”? Biological “clocks” try to compensate and adapt, e.g. if sleep is deprived or to-do plans are too tight for too long. But adaptation goes in both directions. From ion flux in their neurons to reaction of the reflex circuit humans are slowed down by the factor of six magnitudes. Is this related to the fact that humans seem so slow?

Reaction time of adaptation may not be measured in physical terms. Human suffering requires its own time frame. Those who suffer are caught up in nagging thoughts and feelings of being “too late” and “too early”. Maybe there is never a right moment and nothing such like “a program”? Maybe they are just anthropocentric, even individual means and measures? Are human beings no longer adequate for the growing demands of global economic profits? Will a future “24/7”-society be willing to respect our biological “limitations”? Are we trying to banish biological time? Are we willing to cooperate with our given “human outfit”? Or should science provide us with the necessary prosthesis or drugs to speed up and sleep less in the future? What is un-acceptable for robots, maybe the evolutionary advantage for humans? Wait a minute? Do you have a moment to discuss these questions? Maybe we should look for a healthier detour, if we are too hurried?