One of the dangers of life in our hyper-connected world, where electronic technologies keep us apprised of the latest developments all over the world, is that we lose a sense of perspective. We don’t take time to reflect, and to put into context the events of the moment. We grow to prize immediacy but in the process we lose our sense of proportion. What does it matter that we can learn of events nearly instantaneously (from the riots in Iran and China to the passing of Michael Jackson) if we do not take the time to evaluate them from...