Compare with McLuhan s extensions. How Time Communicates Monochronic time emphasizes linearity, schedules, segmentation. Time as a commodity. Invention of the mechanical clock to regulate the religious observances of monks. The clock was as important in developing capitalism as the printing press.
Polychronic time is relative.
One does something until it is finished. In polychronic cultures, schedules and segmentation of activities do not play a major role. Compare with synchronous and asynchronous time. Paul Virilio has commented on the nature of speed , a function of time in space, in contemporary culture. Joyce Nelson, in The Perfect Machine , points out that efficiency is an engineering term that is often applied to human activities.