If all clocks disappear...

[ZH/Franky]

We know the time by looking at the clock, and there are different timezones, etc.

If all clocks and anything else that gives you (accurately) the time, were to suddenly disappear, how would we go about telling the time?

Or, how would we get back to the time scheme before clocks vanished, if we made new clocks?

[creaothceann]

If you know when a total solar eclipse is supposed to happen then you can use that to synchronize the clocks... might be accurate down to minutes or even seconds. The same goes for other "pre-calculated" events.

[Gil_Hamilton]

We know the time by looking at the clock, and there are different timezones, etc.

If all clocks and anything else that gives you (accurately) the time, were to suddenly disappear, how would we go about telling the time?

It's called a sundial.

[grinvader]

Sad when people don't know where the sun is at noon.

[ZH/Franky]

Oops, my bad.


Forgot about sunsets and whatnot >_<
but we only know where teh sun is because we can see it.



so let's change the rules a bit:
If all clocks were to vanish, and everyone was BLIND, how would we go about getting the time back?

[blargg]

"Man, we're all blind now, and the only thing I can think about is figuring out exactly what time it is. Safety, food, shelter? Bah! Just tell me what time it is!"

Seriously, the temperature, humidity, sound of the animals and insects, etc. would be clues. Unlike us humans, animals aren't dumbed down, so they would still know the time even if they went blind too (say there were some horrendous bright light that caused the blinding).

[ZH/Franky]

Keep in mind that you don't see through your eyes; the eyes transmit the image to the brain (through some cable that I forget the name of), and the brain interprets the image.

If it was in the future, at a time when mechanical eyes might be possible, some people might get mechanical eyes fitted. Of course, people wouldn't be able to see while doing it, so some people's robot eye-jobs would be a little botched. But people who get a good job done to them, could then go and look at the sun to figure out the time.
Hehe, if this was possible, they might know how to enhance the part of the brain teh interprets the vision, and fit super eyes that can:
- zoom in on things
- have higher-definition vision than organic eyes
- (maybe) be able to see everything, without focusing on a certain thing (mega focus, for the win)
- The ability to detect different wavelengths (and thus see things like infared, etc), by pushing a little switch or something. But they'd enhance the brain so they only have to think "switching to night vision". Man, that would be cool, it would be like everyone being Inspector Gadget.


And before you ask; yes, I do like to rant my incoherent thoughts

[blackmyst]

lol @ thread


Though it does remind me of this experiment I once saw (long time ago, don't remember many details) where a person was placed in a sealed room for a week without any sort of contact with the outside world, and without any clues as to how much time had passed, i.e. no computers or movies or anything of the sort (he probably just got stuff to read). He'd have to decide for himself when to eat and when to go to sleep.

At one point he'd wake up in the evening and he'd think it was 9 am or something. It was pretty interesting.

[whicker]

Please dear god let this discussion not have been triggered by Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan with Yoko being only 14.

[adventure_of_link]

the eyes transmit the image to the brain (through some cable that I forget the name of)

Optic nerve, sir.

PS: posting with a iPod touch sucks.

[Deathlike2]

lol @ thread


Though it does remind me of this experiment I once saw (long time ago, don't remember many details) where a person was placed in a sealed room for a week without any sort of contact with the outside world, and without any clues as to how much time had passed, i.e. no computers or movies or anything of the sort (he probably just got stuff to read). He'd have to decide for himself when to eat and when to go to sleep.

At one point he'd wake up in the evening and he'd think it was 9 am or something. It was pretty interesting.

The biological clock has to sync with something. Otherwise it's just confused as hell. Then again, if your brain is distracted, (like watching/playing a game for who knows how long), you would never really know the difference.

[grinvader]

Please dear god let this discussion not have been triggered by Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan with Yoko being only 14.

Sauce relevant to my interests.

[Johan_H]

Sad when people don't know where the sun is at noon.

Sadder when people decide to fucking change where the sun is at noon, twice a year!
What the hell is up with that? Did I ask for less sunlight in the morning?

[ZH/Franky]

What's also sad is that it's not always sunny, hence no sun can be seen at noon.


So, if it's winter, people have to wait until summer to see the sun at noon. But the weather has it's variations. While the time could be somewhat obtained again, it would be hard telling the exact day of the year (or exact day of the month of the year more precisely).

People would be able to get a time system back, but it wouldn't be the same as before.

[creaothceann]

See first reply.

[Gil_Hamilton]

If it was in the future, at a time when mechanical eyes might be possible, some people might get mechanical eyes fitted. Of course, people wouldn't be able to see while doing it, so some people's robot eye-jobs would be a little botched.

More like EVERYONE'S. And in this case, a botched operation means you die. A successful one just means you don't.
I have very low hopes for a blind neurosurgeon.

[ZH/Franky]

If it was in the future, at a time when mechanical eyes might be possible, some people might get mechanical eyes fitted. Of course, people wouldn't be able to see while doing it, so some people's robot eye-jobs would be a little botched.

More like EVERYONE'S. And in this case, a botched operation means you die. A successful one just means you don't.
I have very low hopes for a blind neurosurgeon.

Good point, they may accidentally drill through and slice up the brain

[darkbenny]

this thread fails

and i mean fail

[sweener2001]

i'm not sure he knows that people got along swimmingly without clocks for quite awhile.

[Deathlike2]

i'm not sure he knows that people got along swimmingly without clocks for quite awhile.

The term "BC" in 1000BC means "Before Clocks" after all!

[declan]

The term "BC" in 1000BC means "Before Clocks" after all!

BC, stands for Before Ch**st beter not say, incase any one gets upset
BCE, stands for Before Comon Era

[ZH/Franky]

i'm not sure he knows that people got along swimmingly without clocks for quite awhile.

Wrong.
I'm just asking how people would go about getting back the same time system as we have now, if all clocks would disappear. I'm not saying that life is impossible without clocks, just asking how people would find the time again, wanting to do so just because.

[corronchilejano]

The term "BC" in 1000BC means "Before Clocks" after all!

BC, stands for Before Ch**st beter not say, incase any one gets upset
BCE, stands for Before Comon Era

Declan, welcome to the internets. Declan, this is cynism, cynism, say hi to Declan.

[Tallgeese]

BCE/CE is the most retarded thing ever.

[PHoNyMiKe]

it's funny how and why we keep track of time. we know the sun rises everyday. so you get days. then the moon likes to come out and go away, but that takes like 30 days, so you get months. add up those days and months, and you get a year, the time it takes for the whole cycle to repeat. except the earth actually spins 1/4 extra of a turn each year. so we just ignore it each year. then every 4 years, we just add a day to the calendar to make the numbers all add up nice. so from all that time in our solar system, all that time on your hands, to all that time for a 3ghz processor to move (nanoseconds son!).

p.s. time travels when you're having fun!