The acceleration of time and space

Earlier in the course the theory that life appears to happen faster due to the increased rate at which information is available for processing. This can definitely apply to the design process in engineering projects and raises the issue of where to draw the line between one's professional and personal life.

With complex and multidisciplinary design projects, there is never truly a "final and correct" answer. The more time one has to put into the project, the more improvements can be made. If one is the leader of the project, prioritizing the time investment for each division can be very difficult and make or break the design. If the leaders are chosen for their experience and demand of success, they are more likely to be driven to know as much as possible about everything under their responsibility.

Technology has greatly assisted the ability to stay organized and bypass time and space constraints, but the managers now have so much available at all hours that their lives can disappear. Eventually a tipping point can be reached where the drive to succeed and overflow of information results in tunnel vision, decreased health, and much added stress that can greatly affect the ability to make effective decisions.