IdeaXchange: Is Faster, Shorter, Better?

Lean speed has become the early 21st century’s most ubiquitous fetish, as the Twitterati strip debate down to 140 instantly regurgitated characters, and hedge funds hatch out algorithms that can execute stock market trades five micro-seconds ahead of the competition. Nor are congresses immune from infection. Reports cite ever-shrinking lead-times; commentators call for shorter, ‘more efficient’ events; and TED’s snappy, sharp, sexy presentation style is appearing