Thepastagesofmanhaveallbeencarefullylabeledbyanthropologists.Descriptionslike‘PalaeolithicMan’,‘NeolithicMan’,etc.,neatlysumupwholeperiods.Whenthetimecomesforanthropologiststoturntheirattentiontothetwentiethcentury,theywillsurelychoosethelabel‘LeglessMan’.Historiesofthetimewillgosomethinglikethis:‘inthetwentiethcentury,peopleforgothowtousetheirlegs.Menandwomenmovedaboutincars,busesandtrainsfromaveryearlyage.Therewereliftsandescalatorsinalllargebuildingstopreventpeoplefromwalking.Thissituationwasforceduponearthdwellersofthattimebecauseofmileseachday.Butthesurprisingthingisthattheydidn’tusetheirlegsevenwhentheywentonholiday.Theybuiltcablerailways,ski-liftsandroadstothetopofeveryhugemountain.Allthebeautyspotsonearthwereruinedbythepresenceoflargecarparks.’

Thefuturehistorybooksmightalsorecordthatweweredeprivedoftheuseofoureyes.Inourhurrytogetfromoneplacetoanother,wefailedtoseeanythingontheway.Airtravelgivesyouabird’s-eyeviewoftheworld—orevenlessifthewingoftheaircrafthappenstogetinyourway.Whenyoutravelbycarortrainablurred(="not"clear)imageofthecountrysideconstantlysmearsthewindows.Cardrivers,inparticular,areforeverobsessedwiththeurgetogoonandon:theyneverwanttostop.Isitthelure(引诱；诱惑)ofthegreatmotorways,orwhat?Andasforseatravel,ithardlydeservesmention.Itisperfectlysummedupinthewordsoftheoldsong:‘Ijoinedthenavytoseetheworld,andwhatdidIsee?Isawthesea.’Thetypicaltwentieth-centurytraveleristhemanwhoalwayssays‘I’vebeenthere.’Youmentiontheremotest,mostevocative(引起记忆的)place-namesintheworldlikeElDorado,Kabul,Irkutskandsomeoneisboundtosay‘I’vebeenthere’—meaning,‘Idrovethroughitat100milesanhouronthewaytosomewhereelse.’

Whenyoutravelathighspeeds,thepresentmeansnothing:youlivemainlyinthefuturebecauseyouspendmostofyourtimelookingforwardtoarrivingatsomeotherplace.Butactualarrival,whenitisachieved,ismeaningless.Youwanttomoveonagain.Bytravelinglikethis,yoususpendallexperience;thepresentceasestobeareality:youmightjustaswellbedead.Thetraveleronfoot,ontheo