Normative Clocks

General Remarks and Considerations

Note: You may have a hard time to find this term in a standard encyclopedia – just one good reason for integrating it in the TBC encyclopedia, but of course not the only one. Basically, we coined the term "normative clocks" to cover a whole variety of clocks with normative functions.

Remember the main purpose of clocks in public space: The display of time. More precisely: local standard time. Thus: Localizing time, if you want so – creating an individual as well as collective consciousness of the related/relative relationship of time and space.

In doing so, public clocks have also the potency (and task) to synchronize people – with each other, and with the local standard time. Synchronizing and/as standardizing day time, work time, leisure time, rhythms of lives.

There was a time when this was also (if not primarily) meant as a continuous reminder. Not so much for minuteness. But rather for the more general concept of earthly life being all the time connected with eternal cosmic time and its rhythms. A standard in its own rights, of course, especially for these public clocks – just as the concept of time itself – were directly related to religious belief and its worldly institutions.

However, as we all know times are changing. So with industrialization the regimes of time had to be shared between several worldly institutions, of which those running standardized administration, production etc. gaining more power and importance than those related to religious beliefs.

Thus with the times of so called modernity came the concept, construction and public display of Normaluhren.
[Note: There is no literal translation of the term "Normaluhr" – usually its simply "public clock" or "regulator".]

Technically, Normaluhren were based on the master/slave clock principle. Initially invented to synchronize clocks in stations, post offices etc., they soon found their way not only into other administrative buildings and – as a control tool for standardizing work time – into factories and offices, but also onto public places.

Meanwhile the master/slave-principle has been more or less smoothly moved from analog electrical world to digital networked computers/computer networks.
This is, i.e. also true for the good old station clocks.

Now, from this technical background one might think that any attempts for time bending would have to draw on technology as well – like, hacking the master clock.

However, from the TBC perspective, we can clearly confirm: We'd rather prefer not to.
Wrong method. Wrong strategy. Misleading in every single aspect.

Not only this might – or even: probably would have rather harmful effects and undesired consequences in case.
It would be a heavy-handed, inelegant, destructive approach. Contra-productive, and failing to match the point.

Why? Basically and first of all, because any attack like this would likely strengthen the idea of a master time.

Not only on a technical level it would be relatively easy to refresh and/or re-install the system (not to mention there are usually enough backbones in reserve). Far more important is the mere fact that an attack is of course mentioned and perceived consciously as an act of destruction and violence – and for that very reason not at all prone to operate successfully on the very level of time perception and time consciousness.

Thus, it will be far more promising and successful to work with the weak sides and failures of the master/servant clock system, and to build upon these.

How? In example by installing (Un)Clocks and by putting Disfunctional Clocks and Deceptive Clocks on the map.

[…]

Related entries:
[Alternate Clocks]
[Alternate Time(s)]
[Alternate Time Pieces]
Deceptive Clocks (work in progress)
Unclocks (work in progress)
[Untime]

tags: clocks, clockworks, time