Fast

Key ideas

Collison collects historical examples of people quickly accomplishing ambitious projects, and asks why such fast infrastructure work clusters before 1970.

1. 1

   A list of fast, ambitious projects

   The page catalogs cases of people quickly accomplishing ambitious things together, each with a duration and a source, from aircraft and buildings to vaccines.

2. 2

   Speed is possible at large scale

   Entries such as a jet fighter, a 1,700-mile highway, and a skyscraper show big undertakings finished in months rather than years.

3. 3

   A contrast with today

   Collison sets a modern bus lane that took around 7,600 days against these examples, and notes that the physical infrastructure projects listed come disproportionately from before 1970.

4. 4

   Hypotheses, not answers

   Rather than claiming a cause, he points to other writers' hypotheses about red tape, changed governance since the 1960s, and societies growing less dynamic, and invites readers to send more entries.

In Patrick’s words

Connected in lessons

• Time, focus and running the companyCited in: Faster than seems normal

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