Clock: Update thinking with technology progress

Clock: Update thinking with technology progress

By Bob Travica

Commando Delta speaking in his RF device:

- Delta to Alpha, a sniper 3 o’clock, ten-four.

Commando Alpha speaking back in his RF device:

- Copy that.

To make use of this potentially life-saving message, Alpha needs to be facing the same direction as Delta (Alpha must see what direction Delta faces), and then to concentrate on the perpendicular direction, 90 degrees to the right. In other words, Delta has to visualize a good old clock. Even if Delta actually wears a watch with a numeric dial.

But Delta is trained to make the visualization of a fading technology in order to orient himself in physical space.

Doug is a teenager who never wore a watch with the classical dial. Wait, he’s never worn any watch, as his cell phone tells time. Doug wants to learn to waltz for the upcoming wedding of his older sister Anna. She loves it and requested that Doug better be ready to waltz with her at least once. Anna is sure she can teach Doug to waltz in no time.

“Doug, it’s like walking in three steps, right, left, right, and then same with the opposite footwork. All the time you keep turning clock-wise…” explains Anna. “Got the three steps part,” fires back her brother. “But what do you mean to turn clock-wise?” “You know, move in the direction of the hands on a clock.” “Daaa?” stares Doug back at his frustrated sister. “Oh, Doug, it’s just the vocabulary we use for dance instruction. Don’t be such a moron, you’ve got to get it!”

Technologies change faster than our knowledge of technology metaphors. Some pieces of knowledge appear as if they are cut in stone of institutions that resist change. “Three o’clock” is same as saying “watch East” or “90 degrees to the right.” And “turning clockwise” is same as instructing “turn around the right shoulder.”