A Geography of Time: The Temporal Misadventures of a Social Psychologist, or How Every Culture Keeps Time Just a Little Bit Differently

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A Geography of Time: The Temporal Misadventures of a Social Psychologist, or How Every Culture Keeps Time Just a Little Bit Differently

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 304 ratings · 57 reviews

In this engaging and spirited book, eminent social psychologist Robert Levine asks us to explore a dimension of our experience that we take for granted--our perception of time. When we travel to a different country, or even a different city in the United States, we assume that a certain amount of cultural adjustment will be required, whether it's getting used to new food o...more In this engaging and spirited book, eminent social psychologist Robert Levine asks us to explore a dimension of our experience that we take for granted--our perception of time. When we travel to a different country, or even a different city in the United States, we assume that a certain amount of cultural adjustment will be required, whether it's getting used to new food or negotiating a foreign language, adapting to a different standard of living or another currency. In fact, what contributes most to our sense of disorientation is having to adapt to another culture's sense of time.Levine, who has devoted his career to studying time and the pace of life, takes us on an enchanting tour of time through the ages and around the world. As he recounts his unique experiences with humor and deep insight, we travel with him to Brazil, where to be three hours late is perfectly acceptable, and to Japan, where he finds a sense of the long-term that is unheard of in the West. We visit communities in the United States and find that population size affects the pace of life--and even the pace of walking. We travel back in time to ancient Greece to examine early clocks and sundials, then move forward through the centuries to the beginnings of "clock time" during the Industrial Revolution. We learn that there are places in the world today where people still live according to "nature time," the rhythm of the sun and the seasons, and "event time," the structuring of time around happenings(when you want to make a late appointment in Burundi, you say, "I'll see you when the cows come in").Levine raises some fascinating questions. How do we use our time? Are we being ruled by the clock? What is this doing to our cities? To our relationships? To our own bodies and psyches? Are there decisions we have made without conscious choice? Alternative tempos we might prefer? Perhaps, Levine argues, our goal should be to try to live in a "multitemporal" society, one in which we learn to move back and forth among nature time, event time, and clock time. In other words, each of us must chart our own geography of time. If we can do that, we will have achieved temporal prosperity.(less)

Paperback, 288 pages

Published July 23rd 1998 by Basic Books (first published May 31st 1997)

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Aug 06, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have never really traveled outside the country. I've been all over the U.S., and somewhat felt I had a grasp of the time differences people had - until I read this book. This book was, quite simply, a huge eye opener. The crux of the book is the idea of how each of us perceive time is very dependent upon the culture we live in. Robert takes a year, and travels the world to study all of this - and the outcome of his travels was a research topic about this.

A large distinction between countries i...more I have never really traveled outside the country. I've been all over the U.S., and somewhat felt I had a grasp of the time differences people had - until I read this book. This book was, quite simply, a huge eye opener. The crux of the book is the idea of how each of us perceive time is very dependent upon the culture we live in. Robert takes a year, and travels the world to study all of this - and the outcome of his travels was a research topic about this.

A large distinction between countries is a relation to the Type-A, Type-B, and Type-AB personalities. In short, the Type-A personality is one who is always on the go, and hurrying all over. More information is available on Wikipedia. Anyways, in the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe we live by the Type-A personality. Since this was his background, he pays special attention to visiting countries where the clock isn't so much watched. He explained that he really had to adjust to the surroundings to really live there - not so much just to the people, but to the definition of time. One example was various meetings he would attempt to have...sometimes 30-40 minutes would go by, even hours after the meeting was supposed to start, and he'd finally be able to have the meeting. While I had a bit of a grasp that some cultures were a little slower...it wasn't quite this much.

Surprising, one thing he went into that I really appreciated was about how we define the Type-A personality as the ones who tend to get heart disease. He said that wasn't really the only factor. Basically his argument is that a person's personality needs to be matched with their living environment. Also, he mentions that the problem really happens when we're exposed to either too much Type-A or too much Type-B when we're expecting the opposite.

There are a few problems with the book, though. The first problem is that the organization of the book is pretty poor. I found it difficult to really follow some parts of the book...and read more like a stream of consciousness than anything else in those areas. Sometimes he'd also write far more about something than was needed to get the point across. I got the distinct feeling he ran out of thoughts to convey at times.

Overall, I feel the book is worth reading though. This book may not tell much to those who travel a lot. To those who don't travel much, this book should be quite illuminating.(less)

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Dec 23, 2010 Terry rated it 2 of 5 stars

The book was a pile of anecdotes that were neither systematic nor really detailed. Great, the author knows a lot about how people feel time but the examples, except the excerpts of his life which go way too long, are shallow and in some cases repeated. The writing itself is lackluster with excessive adjectives and reliance on both appeals to authority and appeals to conventional wisdom. I do not get the sense that this book is based on hard scientific work or comes from a hard scientist and this...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Niko rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked this up intrigued by the idea of time, how we conceptualize it, and how much or little we have (or think we have). We recurringly hear people decry our pace of life. We read of the way people in other countries and cultures treat their time differently than we do. The author covered these and other topics that I hadn't considered but found fascinating. Some of his points and conclusions are predictable, others are actually rather unexpected.

By the final pages the book had started to dra...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Brendan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, advice-theory, non-fiction, science

Levine's book explores the way that different cultures perceive time and how that correlates to a variety of different facets of society. Levine's researchers measured time in 31 cities of varying sizes by timing how fast it took people to walk 60 feet and how long it took postal clerks to sell a stamp and make change. The researchers then compared those numbers to a wide variety of statistical measures to learn what effect the tempo of a place has on the lives of the people who live there. It's...more Levine's book explores the way that different cultures perceive time and how that correlates to a variety of different facets of society. Levine's researchers measured time in 31 cities of varying sizes by timing how fast it took people to walk 60 feet and how long it took postal clerks to sell a stamp and make change. The researchers then compared those numbers to a wide variety of statistical measures to learn what effect the tempo of a place has on the lives of the people who live there. It's an interesting book, but took a long time to get through (pun intended!). A few tidbits:

* Levine identifies a number of binaries for we readers to consider. He connects different cultures to clock time and event time. Clock time tends to associate with affluence and a high standard of living, but also with coronary disease. Eep!
* The history of clock time is pretty fascinating -- standardized clock time was driven by two forces, mainly: railroads and weather forecasters. If you think about it, both these groups desperately need standardized times in order to deliver their services properly. When standardized clock time was introduced, locals often got downright angry: "Why should Cincinnati set our clocks by Philadelphia time?!"
* The biggest lesson from the book is that different cultures need to learn about one another's habits and perceptions of time in order to collaborate. He explains many ideas about lateness, for instance, that confound Americans when we go abroad. There are particular rules in every culture that determine who waits for whom, when waiting is necessary, and when it's rude to leave someone waiting.
* One of the most interesting bits is Levine's discussion of the way time perception influences child success in school. He cites a study of Chicago children from low income homes whose home lives reflected event time more than clock time, often because of the circumstances around low-income life. These children, used to setting their own pace, are bewildered by the pace and expectations of school life, and are often subsequently labeled as developmentally disabled. The researcher who did the study has since been working on a series of classes to help students learn about time expectations.

Levine also makes a point late in the book to argue that much of what we perceive about right and wrong with regard to how we interact with people comes from these perceptions. One example he uses is the fact that the Japanese use a nuanced system to articulate yes and no, while Americans do not. Thus, trade negotations often result in miscommunications or perceptions that the Japanese are duplicitous or Americans are too dumb to understand subtlety. At the same time, Levine is a bit too willing, in my opinion, to let these cultural differences define things. The one moment that stood out in the book was on page 111:

"There is a practice in many Arab cultures whereby a young woman who is caught being intimate with a man she is not married to is sometimes murdered by her brothers. To Westerners, this is uncivilized behavior. But the brother is committed to protecting the role of an important institution--the family--in the social pattern. It is his responsibility. The sister is a sacred, inviolable link between families and it is imperative to the survival of the social order that she remain above reproach." (111)

Astonishingly, Levine uses this argument to make the point that different perspectives of time aren't necessarily better or worse, just different. It seems to me that people traveling between cultures need, more than anyone, a solid foundation from which to judge acts appropriate or inappropriate, moral or immoral. These acts should spring from first principles, thoughtfully articulated and carefully reasoned. Among the most crucial of these principles would seem to be the inviolability of life. To suggest that a family's honor should be worth more than a sister's life is to fall into cultural relativism, an ethical sinkhole, by my reckoning.

This lapse aside, it's a really interesting book, well worth a skim and possibly worth a deep dip.(less)

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Jul 14, 2010 DoctorM rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sociology

Not a bad exposition of the idea that different cultures and eras look at time in different ways. Levine can be a bit glib and shallow, and the later parts of the book go off into a cliched account of the need to slow down and smell the roses here in the U.S., but the idea that perceptions of time--- and its value ---are culturally-shaped is worth exploring. [See Pico Iyer's essay "Living on Muezzin Time" for thoughts on life in places where time is divided by events--- the calls to prayer ---ra...more

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May 28, 2012 Bruce rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: philosophy lovers and readers of Cosmo

Expectations are everything. I was very much looking forward to encountering an eminent social psychologist's lay-level summary and synthesis of over 30 years' empirical research about time. Among the questions I thought Levine would address were:

- How do people experience time?
- Why do they experience it as they do?
- Are the roots of this experience cultural, organic, or some combination of the two?
- What roles if any do geography, population, climate, etc. play on the experience of time?
- What...more Expectations are everything. I was very much looking forward to encountering an eminent social psychologist's lay-level summary and synthesis of over 30 years' empirical research about time. Among the questions I thought Levine would address were:

- How do people experience time?
- Why do they experience it as they do?
- Are the roots of this experience cultural, organic, or some combination of the two?
- What roles if any do geography, population, climate, etc. play on the experience of time?
- What if any consequences are there to different time perceptions and are these at all quantifiable?
- Can human time perception be manipulated in such a way as to result in predictable changes in behavior? That are interesting/meaningful?

However, Levine's is not a book of science, but of anecdotal philosophy. Sure, he offers a few observations about how different people see time differently, but it's low on information content and intellectual rigor. People in hotter climes move more slowly. People in poverty act with less urgency. People can affect higher status by making others wait. Yawn.

The author concludes his banal ruminations on temporality with the personal epiphany he experienced after returning from an extended stay in laid-back Brazil (at pp. 222-224).

I walked up to my university office trying my best to look like Mr. Chips, but feeling more like Rip Van Winkle.... It seemed as if every task expected of "Professor Levine" came rushing back; I knew what I had to do and I knew the time and place to do it. For a full year my university had gotten along just fine, thank you, without me. And now, with frightening immediacy, my future was once again filled with an abundant helping of "shoulds" and "musts." My schedule was packed....

I resolved that each time I saw myself reentering a pretrip activity -- be it a professional task, such as meeting with a student, teaching a class or writing up a research paper; or a social activity, anything from going to lunch with a colleague to exchanging niceties with an acquaintance to answering the telephone -- I would be alert to intercept my knee-jerk response. And I would pause; then I would ask two questions. First, is this something that I absolutely must do? And, second, is it something that I choose to do? Unless there was a "yes" to one of these questions I would not invest my time in the endeavor....

And that, more than anything, is what I have taken away from my studies of the time senses of other cultures.

Nothing against a bit of self-improvement; there's surely nothing like travel to return a newfound sense of calm. However, considered as the primary return of a lifetime of research, I really could care less about his introspective accomplishment. By Levine's own standards, I found this book to be a colossal waste of my time.(less)

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Dec 02, 2011 Ami rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Maybe more of 2 and a half. I diligently read it from cover to cover, even flipping to the bookmark I kept in the endnotes section. The topic itself is fascinating, the experiences of the author interesting, but somehow...somehow...the writing itself was just a titch more engaging than an academic paper in a peer-reviewed journal. I *think* that's what knocked it down this low for me, because I can't imagine any other reason. I will say that every time I opened it, I learned something, and almos...more

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Nov 03, 2010 Dan rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm typically a sucker for pop science, so I was really excited to read the book. Unfortunately, I don't think Dr. Levine is a particularly good scientist or writer. First, his writing is pretty flat and sober. It doesn't help him that he doesn't seem to be drawing any fascinating conclusions either: Western Europe is fast and South/Central America are slow. Great. New York is fast and LA is laid back. Wow.

I also have a problem with his scientific rigor. He relies very heavily on anecdotal evide...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Eric rated it 3 of 5 stars

I feel like I should have enjoyed this book more than I did. There were a lot of things that resonated with me, and I half expect that pieces of it will bubble up as time goes on. But I found myself (ironically) racing through it, and feel a little like the gist of the entire book was covered in the first section, with the rest being just expansions that didn't necessarily deepen my understanding any.

Nevertheless, it was a good reminder that I hope will stick with me a long time.

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Jun 20, 2012 Val Delane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very interesting! My take-aways: 1/ There is "event-driven" time (the human default) and "clock-driven" time (a comparatively recent development). 2/ Perception of time varies tremendously from culture to culture, from individual to individual, and even within the individual in different situations. 3/ Stress is caused not so much by a fast pace or a lack of time as by an inappropriate fit between the individual's temperament and their environment, or hard-driving competitiveness and hostility,...more

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May 02, 2011 Marissa Morrison rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book deals with how different cultures interact with time. The author set up an interesting series of tests (e.g. how long does it take to buy one postage stamp at a post office?) and repeated them in cities all over the world and within the United States. The happiest and most useful people balance being busy/keeping to a schedule with not feeling rushed or overwhelmed by how much they have to do in so little time.

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Dec 28, 2012 Dan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I only recently began thinking more intently about time. What is it, how it affects us, and how can we use it. This book did a incredible job at opening my eyes to new perspectives of time. How it is intrinsically tied to cultures and individual. How different perceptions of time can create different rights and wrongs of the same events. I learned a lot from this book.

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Aug 09, 2010 Paulo O'Brien rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting study of how different cultures relate to time -- do they live by "event time" or "flow time." It's interesting to note how, in some cultures, "doing nothing is highly treasured and not seen as merely a break in the action, but as a productive and creative force." The concept of "hurry-sickness' and how we in the US are so afflicted is interesting too.

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Jul 09, 2009 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting book about different concepts of time. I liked the explanations of time in cultures that are so unlike the ones I have lived in, and the historical information about clocks was fascinating. The author introduced me to the difference between clock time and event time, which made me think about the way I manage my own time day to day.

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Oct 01, 2009 V rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: z2009

This was a fairly easy read that discussed differences in the ways that various cultures perceive time. This topic may sound dry, but the author manages to make it interesting. It is completely approachable for the masses. Any traveler should be aware of these differences and this book certainly would prepare a person to expect the unexpected.

However, I was somewhat disappointed that the book did not go into more depth, consisting in large part of anecdotes from the author's own experience as a...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Patrick Nylen rated it 1 of 5 stars

So disappointing. Reads like a collection of fun facts on cultures and how they view/practice time... I stopped reading halfway through. I imagined a hardcore, academic-style book on culture and time, but the random tangents and half-thoughts don't even qualify this as a good light read.

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Apr 02, 2009 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having spent two years in Brazil, I found this book spot-on in its portrayal of the differences in the tempo of time between the United States and Brazil. When I had a chance to pick a book for our neighborhood bookclub, this book was my first choice.

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Oct 24, 2009 Emily added it

Juicy juicy juicy ideas. If you've ever had to readjust your personal clock in another country, or another culture, or another context, you probably have had a sense of what this guy is exploring. He proposes teaching Time Literacy along with language skills for visiting other countries. This, of course, offers abundant opportunities to learn about our own time sense - just as travel in a foreign land always teaches us more about ourselves than what we saw. He did a bunch of studies about time a...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Patrick Matte rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ce livre raconte le temps, un concept qui est fortement ancré dans nos vies ("le temps c'est de l'argent") mais qui est perçu de manière différente par d'autres peuples. C'est un petit bijou de "choc culturel" qui, au final, permet de mieux comprendre sa propre relation avec le temps. J'ai adoré et je recommande.

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Aug 15, 2010 Emily A. rated it 2 of 5 stars

There are some good ancedotes in here, but I found much of the text repetitive. It was less rigourous and theoretical than I was hoping for, but an easy read on an interesting topic.

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May 31, 2012 Anne added it

What is our relationship to time and how is is shaped by our geography? Some interesting information. Skipped around to get the main points and love the conclusion.

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Dec 10, 2012 Craig Mattson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting cultural analysis. I like the idea of being a temporal millionaire! A very creative project; see kids, research can be fun!

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Jul 28, 2011 Simon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Interesting in patches but, being honest, this tries to make a lot of what would be very interesting as just a long essay. A bit wearisome after you've read and got the main points the first time round.

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Dec 30, 2012 Rachel added it

I loved this book, and while I am completely western in my view of it, it was good to see the other views.

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Feb 20, 2011 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great non fiction about time, how cultures keep time, care about time, and what it means to our society.

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Dec 09, 2012 Dania Salamah added it

This book really influenced the way I look at the world. It was an eye opener.

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Apr 10, 2011 Ben Talbert added it

Just started this one as part of a book club with friends. Promising so far.

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Sep 22, 2010 Julie Bell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting concepts - makes me want to be a social psychologist.

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Jun 07, 2010 Tracey marked it as to-read

Shelves: recommended-tcpl

304.23 L665G -- Craig listed as to-read - title & concept are intriguing.

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May 29, 2009 emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

read for a term paper, but very interesting. certainly not esoteric.

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