Civilization has created one kind of quarantine ward, with walls the fever of speed does not penetrate. This is the place where people do time; where their most fervent desire is to pass time and to kill time. In prison, there are short-timers and long-timers, people doing hard time and people doing harder time. The prisoner's curse is boredom, and yet is not exactly boredom. It is a powerlessness to control time; the control of time, a precious possession has been taken away.
— James Gleick, Faster