Hayles Tie In to Quickness

          Quickness is especially apparent when N. Katherine Hayles discusses the millions of dollars that are traded internationally in a span of two to four seconds using protocols that recognize a delay of a few seconds.  Even such a short amount of time makes a difference between profit and loss.  The idea of trading money globally using electronic devices is the idea of quickness at its highest.  Traders must think extremely fast when it comes to where currency should be placed and at which specific time. 

          Hayles says trading globally is money at its most virtual since it is moving around the globe in electronic exchanges extremely fast with rate fluctuations.  It is also dependent on a variety of fast changing economic-social and political factors.  Our society has become more dependent on electronic devices to trade money and communicate with people from all parts of the globe and that makes our world move much faster every day.  

E-Lit Example For Quickness

          The E-Lit example I found that relates to the idea of quickness in Calvino’s memos is called Tao.  It entails an extremely short poem of less than twenty words underneath a video of two similar roads parallel to one another speeding in front of you.  The music sounds like rushing wind and is soothing at the same time.  It is in contrast with the computerized image of the road that zooms by so quickly that the image seems blurred.  There are clouds that move more slowly than the road so they contrast with the quickness as well. 

          You can tell that the parallel images on the screen are roads when you are watching the video and when watching you feel like you are in a car that is going faster than any legal speed limit.  I thought of Calvino’s description of the horse moving quickly along the road too, and felt like you could be sitting in a horse-drawn coach also watching the road move before you so fast and intensely.

Analogy For Quickness

          Sailing a boat involves the two types of quickness that Calvino discusses in his book.  When operating a sailboat you have to understand the different ways that wind can affect the sails and the speed of the boat.    

          Mentally, you must be aware of the proper way to operate the sails and the rudder in order to utilize the wind in the best possible way so that the boat is operating at its maximum speed.  There are numerous important aspects of the boat which can affect the quickness but you have to know exactly when to haul in the sheets of the sails to make the winds most favorable.  If the sheets are loose, the boat will slow down.

          You travel at an angle in a sailboat because moving downwind greatly decreases your speed.  You can never go faster than the wind moving downwind so you zigzag through the water at angles to pick up momentum.  

Emblem For Quickness

          I’ve always found the speed of a dolphin to be extremely interesting.  For such a large animal they are able to move very swiftly through the water.  This makes the dolphin a perfect symbol for the idea of quickness, which Calvino talks about in his memos.  The relationship between the dolphin and the person watching the dolphin also relates to the emblem.  The dolphin moves so quickly but the person also has to be quick in spotting the animal because of its speed.  

          Dolphins gain speed as they push through the ocean.  They also move faster than most other water animals.  It is amazing that dolphins can move at the same speed as boats sailing by.  It is helpful that they can hold their breath under water for long periods of time and also that they can jump through the water, which in some instances can increase their quickness.

Calvino’s Quickness

          Italo Calvino excels at giving examples that relate to each quality he discusses in his text, Six Memos For The Next Millennium.  In his chapter on quickness he explores ideas that involve being both physically and mentally quick.  His first example is a story that  tells of the emperor Charlemagne who falls in love with whatever a magic ring touches, so the movement of the ring affects the feelings of Charlemagne.  Calvino liked the speed of the Charlemagne story and said it brings feelings of ineluctable.

         Calvino also says that the rhythm and metrical effects of verse make you want to know what happens in a story.  This aspect makes speed and quickness seem important when reading narratives.  The emblem Calvino uses for speed is a horse and he later tells a story a coachman who falls asleep while driving and the horse ends up going quickly along the wrong side of the road.  When the coachman wakes up he only has a few seconds to make a decision on what to do next.  This story is a perfect example of mental and physical quickness.