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| mwb1100:
I prefer analog clocks over digital. It basically boils down to being able to visualize the relationship between times. That's generally what you need to know from a clock: - how much time do I have before some event - how late am I - how much time did something take With a digital clock I have to actively do math calculations. Granted, it's usually not much of an effort, but with the analog clock the result comes more naturally for me. Of course this isn't to say one is better than the other. Like so many things it's ultimately a personal preference. It's a similar to how a diagram conveys information better than raw numbers for many situations or people. An analog clock is analogous to a pie chart. |
| mwb1100:
--- Quote from: Siwastaja on April 01, 2023, 06:00:52 pm ---But the analog clock is a colossally bad example of analog meter, because it's ****ed up beyond all repair. Make it 24 hours and remove the minute hand and I will reconsider. --- End quote --- A 24 hour clock would make sense (and they do exist), but I think overcoming the inertia that 12 hour clocks have would be very difficult. There also seems to be some disagreement about whether mid-day should be at the top or bottom. And early clocks did have only one hand. I'd guess because it was simpler to make, but also people didn't have the need for as much precision as today. I don't think people 200 years ago started getting upset when a meeting or show was 10 minutes late in starting. It turns out that there are one handed clocks even today, as one of these 24 hour watches demonstrates: |
| RoGeorge:
--- Quote from: mwb1100 on April 01, 2023, 06:41:07 pm ---I don't think people 200 years ago started getting upset when a meeting or show was 10 minutes late in starting. --- End quote --- Don't know for meetings, but there was a big need of very precise and accurate timekeeping, for ship navigation away from shore. When at sea, one would need the exact time to calculate the longitude, or else only the latitude can be determined precisely by the stars. In fact, that's what boosted the precision, the accuracy and the miniaturization of clocks: the need of a ship's "GPS" at sea, about 300 years ago. There was a nice documentary about that: Nova Lost At Sea: The Search For Longitude PBS Documentary |
| RoGeorge:
Found the docudrama (hours long :D) of the same topic: importance of timekeeping in navigation Chronoglide Cinema: Longitude (John Harisson) |
| RJSV:
That analog dial is best, for glancing at time, quickly. However, I do use digital clocks, specifically for when doing simple mat exercises. For example stretching right leg, I do 2 minutes, then switch to left leg in stretch position. Not simply for balanced result, but also to keep a sort of gauge or progress check. That's as I do sets of 8 minutes each, then 2 minutes off. This way, going from 8:02 through 8:10 gets one set; that has 4 pairs of left-right (stretches)...and then move around and prepare for next, 8:12 through 8:20. Sounds maybe too complex, but it's just 2 through ten each time, and digital display essential. |
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