time and distance

this was something that we learnt in school. that between two points there is distance and also a dimension of time.

one of the points that struck me while i was traveling the last couple of weeks was that there has been some compression of distance - by faster travel as well as information and communication technologies that make it easy to acces information or even people.

time, however is still synchronous - what a great revelation.

i think i wrote about this earlier - compression of time, while talking about accelerated learning.
can we make time asynchronous? email is a good example. it lets individuals participate at their own time pace. but then, the elapsed time for a communication or transaction is much higher.
can we make time asynchronous? maybe that is the key to making meetings more effective. In this trip, i had to sit up almost all night once, to participate in a discussion where all the other participants were in bangalore. and continue staying up for a call with germany. since i was traveling the next day, it was not all that bad, but otherwise, the day/night continuum has an impact on the body clock.

which brings me to another recenet study of some BPO organizations. this study found that the maximum stress levels and consequent attrition seems to be in the US shift, compared to the European of Far east shifts. wonder why..

when you start wondering about things, it could lead to interesting possibilities. when i was talking to someone about the new airlines - IATA - baggage regulations, apparently brought in by the load handlers unions - that the maximum weight for a suitcase should be 50 lbs - 23 kgs. a change from the earlier size based limit for passengers form / to the US, there was a suggestion to have helium filled suitcases, that would weigh less than they actually are.
while it sounded quite a possibility, not sure what the catch would be..
any comments?