CELLPHONE NOMADS.

CELLPHONE NOMADS. The Economist special section is entitled “Nomads at last.” It uses the “nomad” term to emphasize the difference from what it refers to as the “astronaut” model of a few years ago. Workers then had to haul large machines and wires around with them. The new nomads don’t need to carry paper with them because they know that they can now find what they need just as a nomad knows that there are oases where they can find water. One researcher estimates that about one third of the working time of knowledge workers in the United States is spent in traditional offices, one third in home offices, and one third in places like cafes and parks. The article describes workers who have no office at all.