Don't fix the problem just change the parameters
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I'm 35. Math major. Work in STEM. Well educated.
I hate analogue clocks. Why use subpar way of reading time if digital is so much better?
They are actually a helpful way to show passage of time visually, without abstract math knowledge. For example my son has downsydrome, he could read time from analog and understand passage of time and time left on it, but numbers counting up to 60 was abstract.. Like its 47 minutes past 5 how close to the hour is it getting? No clue unless he wrote it out as a math question and did the subtraction. But for him those were meaningless numbers anyway. 15 was no different than 45 for him. But visual cues of quarter past and quarter to made sense for him
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Its also cool to just be able to build a physical mechanism which digital clocks have no real feasible option to do
i am delighted to be able to introduce you to flip clocks.
I love flip clocks
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Dated does not mean obsolete. But it's hard to deny a digital clock is superior in almost every way.
Unlike the other examples you're giving, I fail to see in what aspect an analog clock beats a digital one. Sure they have a certain charm, but functionally they're just behind their digital counterpart.
For my son, that has downsydrome, analogs clocks made sense for him because he could see the time passing or time remaining to the hour, but digital requires abstract number concepts he struggled with. 15 or 45 didn't really mean anything to him sizewise, they are both 2 digit numbers. So he would struggle to grasp the time passing or time left... And making things worse we count 1-99 before the next unit but clocks are 1-59. How much time before 6 when it's 5:47? Becomes a math equation, but a glance on the clock is readily apparent.
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45 year old here...I'm pretty sure I've never bought an analog clock and I think it would be weird for a school—or any place, really—to have one. I'm not surprised kids don't learn outdated technology and anybody who is mad about it should pick up a slide rule.
a slide rule
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No time for learning, only tests
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I feel like I'm going insane reading these comments about how difficult it is to read analog clocks, how it needs too much understanding of maths, how it takes too long,...
Can someone please confirm: you just look, for a fraction of a second, at the clock face and know the time, right?
Learning to read the clock was like... A couple of lessons and some homework in the 2nd grade, and everyone got it.
Understanding the concept is fast. Getting good at sight-reading a clock face actually takes time to get familiar with it. If you only ever really see the clock in school, and You can choose to ignore it for phones or other digital clocks, you're never gonna get good enough at it that you'll be as fast as checking a phone.
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...which by the way is just reading the number the freaking shadow points at...
And how do you read an analog clock? By looking at the number the arm points at. Learning how to read the clock is not just "what number is it on" but it's getting familiar with the clock face so you can read it quickly. It's like the difference between spelling and reading.
wrote last edited by [email protected]You are right, nothing to argue against here. What I'm arguing against is just that digital clocks are somehow the successor of analog clock, which they are not. There is a reason why digital clocks are now everywhere and that's mainly cost. It's far cheaper to add a digital clock (sometimes just software because the hardware had a (segmented) display anyway). Nobody would add an analog clock to a microwave, because why would you. But because you need the display anyway to show the remaining time, why not show the actual time when there is nothing in it.
The other thing I'm arguing against is the claim that digital clocks are easier to read. That's just wrong. Assuming you have roughly the same amount of exposure to both types of clocks. Children about 3-5 have no problem understanding analog clocks (just focus their attention to the hour hand at first) but I have yet to see three/four year old kids reading and understanding digital clocks. Digital clocks are more like actual reading and you need a pretty solid understanding of time already to interpret what you read. An analog clock on the other side doesn't assume you know how long an hour is, quite the contrary, it helps children develop a feeling for how long minutes and hours are.
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For my son, that has downsydrome, analogs clocks made sense for him because he could see the time passing or time remaining to the hour, but digital requires abstract number concepts he struggled with. 15 or 45 didn't really mean anything to him sizewise, they are both 2 digit numbers. So he would struggle to grasp the time passing or time left... And making things worse we count 1-99 before the next unit but clocks are 1-59. How much time before 6 when it's 5:47? Becomes a math equation, but a glance on the clock is readily apparent.
Exactly. And that's also true for young children. Reading digital clocks is exactly that... reading. It doesn't mean you understand what it means or how to interpret it. Analog clocks however are a great tool at actually get a feeling for time.
I think the biggest issue judging by the comment section is that most Americans (at least it seems that way) are almost never exposed to analog clocks.
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I'm 35. Math major. Work in STEM. Well educated.
I hate analogue clocks. Why use subpar way of reading time if digital is so much better?
Same reason you might use 22/7 instead of the exact value of π. If I look at a clock and see it's about ten to 2, it's rare to never that I actually need to know it's 1:53:22.57365785285978520256734567314854372354675466099.
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It's getting so bad that some people even put the period INSIDE the quotation mark at the end of a sentence!
It's getting so bad that some people can't distinguish between British and American punctuation conventions.
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Next schools will start removing textbooks because students cannot read. They will replace with audio books.
Father, I cannot click the book!
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My son has down syndrome, he did better with analog because you can see the motion and time left in an hour, whereas digital was abstract and he didn't really grasp 47 was getting close to 60 etc.
On the other hand, trouble reading analogue clocks can be one of the signs of dyslexia.
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Literally noone I know in real life has any problem whatsoever reading analog clocks, no matter the "brain capacity", neuro-typicality, state of drunkenness,... It is an extremely simple "skill".
Congratulations? Your bias doesn't prove a thing
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My son has down syndrome, he did better with analog because you can see the motion and time left in an hour, whereas digital was abstract and he didn't really grasp 47 was getting close to 60 etc.
i have this problem with digital as well (just neurodivergent):
22:55 -> oh nice not too late, I can still do stuff
23:05 -> o damn, o dear, no time left, gotta finish up, gotta get to bed soon, damn
On the other hand, if I only use analog, I lose more time checking the watch until I know the time (including double check) than I win by knowing the time at all
Best is to have analogue and digital side-by-side, or digital within analogue.
Like, I need the movement of the minutes, but fast info about current hour.
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I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but I think you might be missing context. When I said he's using text-to-speech I don't mean he's blind, I mean he can't read. Cuz in a different thread he corrected when I typed "U" and replied "*you". And he keeps saying "read again" that's why I said that? Is this what you meant?
Cuz in a different thread he corrected when I typed "U" and replied "*you".
Totally pedantic and annoying
And he keeps saying "read again"
Totally annoying. I also told him to rephrase
When I said he's using text-to-speech I don't mean he's blind, I mean he can't read.
I reached common ground with him that diagnosed dyslexic people should get special treatment and I extended it to other unrelated skills like reading analog clocks (in biology exams). You, on the other hand, make fun of dyslexia. What context did I miss? Is ablism ok when the butt of the joke is an asshole? If the conversion was about whether dyslexic people or non native speakers should get extra time or something, would you be team "nah, they are just stupid"?
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Next schools will start removing textbooks because students cannot read. They will replace with audio books.
People reading this comment might think it's absurd. But sadly it is more than likely true and will happen soon. Why burden students with the hard work of learning - you might hurt their feelings
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Teenagers not being able to tell the time from analogue clocks is CRAZY (saying this as a teenager myself)
They can't use a slide rule either. What are they teaching in these schools??
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About thirty years ago I was a teen. I remember talking with a girl only a few years younger than me, and being astounded that she didn’t know how to read an analogue clock.
Exactly as you indicated, this is nothing new.
my sister (born in the late 1970s) graduated from high school and tech college without being able to tell time on a regular clock.
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Something like 30 years ago analogue clocks seemed to be dominant. Does that mean you lived through childhood and adolescence without reading time?
Expensive digital watches with glowing led segment displays turned up late 70s, but battery life was shit. I never had one.
By the 90s cheaper digital with LCD screens were everywhere. Battery life was great.
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Cuz in a different thread he corrected when I typed "U" and replied "*you".
Totally pedantic and annoying
And he keeps saying "read again"
Totally annoying. I also told him to rephrase
When I said he's using text-to-speech I don't mean he's blind, I mean he can't read.
I reached common ground with him that diagnosed dyslexic people should get special treatment and I extended it to other unrelated skills like reading analog clocks (in biology exams). You, on the other hand, make fun of dyslexia. What context did I miss? Is ablism ok when the butt of the joke is an asshole? If the conversion was about whether dyslexic people or non native speakers should get extra time or something, would you be team "nah, they are just stupid"?
You, on the other hand, make fun of dyslexia.
You're actually right, that wasn't nice.
I actually didn't know there was such a condition before this. Ig I went overboard with the "even 6year Olds can read". I just lost patience with that ahole and decided to drop Down to his level. I thought I will criticize him for something he can't seem to do since he criticizes others personal choices.
If the conversion was about whether dyslexic people or non native speakers should get extra time or something, would you be team "nah, they are just stupid"?
Now that you say it, that actually sounds very much like something an asshole would say. I crossed a boundary that I wouldn't have liked to cross in my right mind. My bad, I'm sorry
