Abstract
THE interesting correspondence on “Lying Clocks” inaugurated by Sir John Cockburn in the Times has tended to degenerate into a display of advertisements by different firms interested in various systems of clock synchronisation. But in its original form, the point raised is one of great importance, and if it is not appreciated by the public as fully as it should be, the explanation is probably to be found in the general contempt for accuracy exhibited in this country, and the non-scientific habits which have been so long cultivated or permitted. It seems impossible to get the man in the street to understand the significance of seconds. He is ready with his old adage, De minimis non curat lex, and thinks he has settled the question. But this is not so, and the interest taken in the Times discussion indicates the possible introduction of a healthier state of things. We may look forward to a time when every progressive town, or city will be provided with clocks, publicly exhibited, which will declare the correct time. If such mechanism were provided, it would, not only tend to economy in various directions, owing to the more complete appreciation of small intervals of time, but such clocks would furnish a wholesome lesson in accuracy, and by the introduction of scientific processes into everyday life inculcate the importance of paying greater attention to scientific methods.
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Public Clocks and Time Distribution . Nature 77, 253 (1908). https://doi.org/10.1038/077253a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/077253a0