Or should we ask, "Why does speed matter?" in the first place.

And what speed is it that matters: a car's speed, a -snail or e-mail's delivery (Internet access) speed, the rotation of Earth around herself or around the Sun’s speed, or, probably the most important to many people today: a computer’s processing speed?

I think most people using computers may be content with whatever the max speed they may gain from whatever the tools, equipment and vehicles they happen to use daily, e.g. their cars, but I dare say no one is ever totally happy with whatever the speed one may get from one’s computer system.

While, a couple of decades ago, 100Mhz in CPU speed sounded more than fair enough, it still seemed too slow when serious computer users (amateur or pro) on a machine of that speed wanted to do something that was to be done in a short time preferably and the machine could not handle.  Or when there was a need for more than two jobs to be done at the same time and the computer’s operating system was capable of doing it as well but CPU speed (and processing power, which is not quite speed-related as it is performance-based) proved to be inadequate.

Those who still remember the early days of the Amiga computers (and its later days too of course!) know well what is being talked about in here.  Until before the coming of the Amiga to many people’s homes (and a few offices too) the term multitasking was not a known concept to even majority of advanced yet regular computer users who had at the most read or heard of such a technical term.

These days however, multitasking is so well known a feature and wildly in use that you read about it even in some employment ads in which some (I’d call them “abusive” though) employers advertise for “hiring people who can multitask!” or “multitasking [in our workplace] is a must!” and so forth.  (In fact, one can be sure if anyone checks the media dated until about a decade or so ago, it is barely possible to find such employment ads asking for such a person with such “multitasking” abilities!  Unlike the term multimedia that we also hear or read about a lot these days, which dates back to times older than the ` 80s, the term multitasking has simply picked up in the public jargon after the introduction of desktop and then laptop microprocessor computers post `80s last century.  But let’s not get into that right now.)

Ok, the “intelligent electronic brain” was not an unknown item even before the earliest desktop analog computers came into being in mid-seventies of the twentieth century, and at an affordable price as well, albeit they were still barely capable computing machines in terms of ‘home use’ to be in the hands of majority of the ordinary folk.  As most people know, computers for home or small office use were not quite available (much less to be financially affordable too) until the early `80s, or even early `90s.  But again as we all know, all of these early small or desktop (as well as laptop) machines were slow.  And besides, they did not multitask, which was not as much related to a slow speed CPU as it was the result of a CPU’s shortcomings in design and performance, as well as probably the `weak` performance of other chips and components on the motherboard, plus a truly multitasking OS that was not available at the time.

But what makes humans so interested in gaining more speed in doing everything: haste?  Maybe, although it certainly is not the only reason but surely an important one among many.  However, probably one most basic motivation behind the ever-increasing desire in most earth cultures to work so hard in achieving more speed must have been the advent of calendars.

After man discovered how days and nights follow a regular pattern hence do so weeks, months, seasons and years, even eras; and as soon as he could ride animals to trod paths that took much longer on foot alone; or after the wheel was invented thus distances could be traveled in much shorter time, the concept of time soon proved to be a purely relative one to man.  He knew it very well now that given better, faster means and vehicles are available, journeys taking months or even years could be done in weeks or days, even hours and minutes these days …  (How about fractions of a second?  Or “we’re going to be there before you could even think of it!”)

That is why a craving for things to be done faster and results to be achieved in shorter time has become humans primary goal in most areas of activity from going from point A to point B, to finance (easy huge amounts of money to be gained in little or no time) to doing things on a computer; the sooner, the better.

Another factor influencing man’s desire to achieve faster speeds in almost everything however is probably rooted in his rather short lifespan.  Although barely any other creature on earth (in case of mammals at least) lives longer than humans, life is already too short, as all of us know only too well!

Thus the quicker things, especially good stuff, happen and end results are met, the more we like it and feel happy about it.  This becomes particularly true when we consider that of the average 70 years we live, only half to two-third of it is considered our young, healthy and ‘able’ age!  The rest we are either too young to fully enjoy life in a mature way, or too old to put our experience and maturity into good use the way a young person can actively do it. (What about the exceptional few who live more than a century or so? Living under constant care by others, on a wheelchair or simply in the slowest possible manner of walking around using sticks and walkers may not be called a lucky thing by some people, yet if one's mind is going to be still actively healthy, then it is surely going to be an enjoyable life no matter what.)

Now, something that is also worth noting here is that why after considering all the facts and realities concerning human’s tendency to reach a “more than animal speed” state in order to achieve goals quicker, he is not after all fully satisfied no matter how fast things work and machines run?

I mean less than a century ago it was not even possible to fly across the ocean from say America to Europe, but now an 8 hour trip on a jet plane and on the same route sounds too long already and we seek even shorter times to travel the same distance, especially if that is a routine activity some people have to do regularly, say on a weekly or even daily basis.

The “faster = better” notion is felt even more strongly when it comes to computers.

When we first started using computers with 200MHz speed and compared it to the slower ones that ran at 100MHz, it felt really good and even more than fast enough but after a short while, the same fast machine sounded too slow, mainly because of newer application software that came out for the same fast machine but it also demanded even more processing powers and CPU clock speed etc.  Besides, even the old software of choice that was running much faster on the new machine now and we had no complaints about it initially, seemed to be going too slow after a while we used it on the faster system and got used to its speed.  When driving a car also, no matter how fast we are allowed to run it on an empty highway, after a short time, our brain’s ‘sensors’ adjust to that high speed, taking it as ‘normal’ and it seems slow …

Therefore it is in our nature apparently that due to whatever the reason, no matter how fast, or even efficient, a computer system works, our mind –as well as expectations- appear to be growing with that speed as well, thus finding the fastest / latest machines that come out, still too slow after some time we use them regularly.

It must be a matter of ‘patience’ probably: humans are impatient creatures no matter what!