The Big Clock in the Classroom Is on Its Way Out

[MineralMan]

In the fifth grade, my classroom had a huge analog clock on the wall. It was 24" in diameter. It had a second hand that jumped to the next second as it moved around the clock face. Along with the 12 numbers for the hours, it also showed the 24-hour numbers and smaller numbers to indicate the minutes and seconds in 5-minute intervals.

When I was bored, I used to stare at that clock, watching the second hand click the seconds off. Then, one day, I noticed that if I looked intently at the minute hand, I could actually see its movement, in 1-second increments also, making a tiny, tiny jump each second. I'm sure the hour hand did the same, but the movement was too slow for my eye to resolve.

Had that clock been a digital clock, I would never have seen the passage of time so clearly. Personally, I think that the move to phase out analog clocks is a mistake in some ways. Time moves inexorably onward, in a continuous flow. Watching it pass is a great way to relieve tedium and boredom. Digital clocks are not interesting to watch, really, unless they display seconds passing or even hundredths of a second passing. Analog clocks are more interesting.

For me, it's not what the time actually is that is interesting. It is the passage of time that interests me. That is best observed on a big analog clock, large enough to observe the minute hand visibly creeping around the dial.

I'm old. Time passes, but that passage is observable and instructive.

[Cartoonist]

1. Telling time

You are more aware of what time it is with an analog clock. You don't even need to read the numbers. The minute and hour hands show you the time in pie slices.

If I have an appointment at the top of the hour, I can look at the minute hand and know just how much time I have by how big a slice remains. With a digital clock, I still have to do a little arithmetic.

An analog clock shows you time in a circular manner that reflects the way the Earth moves. A digital clock robs you of that connection.

[MineralMan]

3. Yes. An analog clock represents the passage of time better

than mere numbers. It is a graphical representation which make clear the repeating nature of the passage of time, based on our day.

We lose something if we stop showing time in an analog way. Time is distinctly an analog function.

We rarely actually need to know the exact time. Instead, we need to relate the present time to the past and future. Only an analog clock shows the current time in that relationship.

[Adrahil]

5. That's an interesting point of view...

But time passes at a constant rate.

And while you may find value in that representation, clearly, not everyone does.

Personally, I find analog faces more convenient. I can get a gist of the time with a quick glance. That's why I like having a wrist watch. I can quickly turn my wrist for a fraction of a second and get the sense that's 12 thirtysomething. I find value in that. But I think kids growing up in a digital world might now. They are learning to perceive time differently from you or I.

There are a remarkable shift in human time perception when clocks and watches became common. Before that point, the notion of exact time was hardly recognized by most people. Their lives were ruled by the bells of the churches, or calls to prayer, or whatever.

Our transition now is much more minor, but it is there.

[MineralMan]

6. I stopped working for other people at a job in 1974

I don't wear a watch. I don't need one. I have one that I wear if I need to be somewhere at a certain time, but it sits in my underwear drawer at least 360 days a year. In any case, pretty much wherever I am, there is a clock somewhere in view, should I have a reason to care what the precise time is.

Mostly, though, I live in subjective time. I could tell you the time within a range of 10 minutes or so. But I don't need to know that. Still, there are clocks all around me. On my computer, cell phone, or a nearby wall. There is a clock in my car, as well, although I rarely adjust it for daylight saving time. I just compensate, when needed.

[Adrahil]

2. I fond myself in an interesting position....

I love calligraphy and I delight in learning to write with quills and fountain pens.

But I think cursive is largely obsolete. It was a writing style intended to facilitate writing quickly with quill.

And I love old clocks and watches. I have a small collection of watches, all with analog faces.

But clock faces are an artifact of the technology used to drive them. It is not necessarily a natural well to display time.

We are in an era of remarkable transition.

Instead of conservatively trying to protect what was, we should be trying to embrace what will be.

[MineralMan]

4. See my reply directly above yours.

The analog clock has more functions than simply indicating the current time.

[Dave Starsky]

7. You can use an analog wristwatch as an emergency compass.

Old Scouting trick...

[MineralMan]

8. That's true.

However, I rarely need that ability. Within an hour, I can get really close to true north, by seeing how the sun moves. But, I'm rarely far enough away from streets to need to be able to locate due North. And, if I'm driving, the compass on my car's display tells me which direction I'm headed. I like technology, and I'm very familiar with people carrying a compass who are hopelessly lost. A compass is of no use unless you use it while heading away from where you'll eventually need to head back to. When I used to be in the back country, I used landmark sightings to orient myself. I was always looking back to where I'd been so I could find my way back from where I was going.

[Dave Starsky]

13. I like to camp and "rough it" when I can.

So having a backup plan for everything is always good.

Professionally, an analog watch also helps me survive. Nothing is more rude during a meeting than when someone is talking and you're looking over at the clock on the wall or on the conference phone or (the worst!) your cellphone. With an analog wristwatch, you can have your hands in your lap, casually glance down while "blinking" and instantly know how you're doing time-wise, and no one is the wiser.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

9. Will the new digital clock faces show the moon phases as hundredths of a full moon? nt

[MineralMan]

10. I have one of those nifty weather clocks beside my living room seat.

It shows the moon phases by using an image that changes to reflect the current phase. I generally don't pay much attention to that, though. I used to, since I fished frequently in tidal waters. I never really had to look at a tide chart, since the phase of the moon told me what I needed to know in terms of time and relative height of the tides. I didn't need precision, really.

[ailsagirl]

11. I definitely prefer analog

[MineralMan]

12. That's a pretty little clock.

No second hand, though. I like second hands.

[ailsagirl]

16. True-- me too

[progree]

14. My digital clock says 12-something. I look at the analog and it says "its almost 1 already"

The analog clock gives me a more accurate sense of the time.

[MineralMan]

15. That's it, exactly. It's an instant visual clue to the time.

If I have to do something at 1 PM, for example, I can see that the big hand is almost pointing at the 12 and the little hand is close to the 1. That means I'd better get up and be on my way so I won't be late.