TV presenters…digital or human?

Southern Clocks doesnt spend much time watching breakfast television. Well, no time at all. Luckily as it turns out. Apparently two people called Dan Walker and Louise Minchin have struggled to cope with their onscreen clock malfunctioning so ended up with clocks between them on the sofa and an argument over whether to go with an analogue dial or a digital display.

The naivety is almost comic, apparently describing an analogue dial as 'old-school' without any understanding of what it is, how it works and how important it is. This co-incides with increasing numbers of reports of children not being able to read an analogue dial, which doesn't seem to worry anybody.

So why is it important? As humans we have our bio-rhythms and we live in a world with days, nights and seasons. Just ask any night-shift worker. An analogue dial connects us, as humans, with the passing of the day, because it just needs a quick glance and we are connected to the section of the day that we are in and it thus makes us aware of the natural world around us. A digital display of time is literally just that; no context and no wider understanding of how things fit together.

So in practice, let's look at a swift example. An understanding of the analogue clock dial helps us to know where we are on the roads of the UK. Roads are numbered as on a clock dial radiating from London so that the road number, when we are out there, tells us roughly where we are. 'Why do we need that when we have satnav?’ I hear you ask (and somebody will). Exactly...point proven. Q.E.D.

Make sure you 'turn up' to life without just letting it happen all around you.