Of Clocks and Conservatism

Technologically savvy as I am, grandfather clocks will forever instill great terror and admiration.

Let me explain.

If my computer is on the fritz, I restart it.  If my phone dies, I charge it.  Modern innovations usually have easy fixes or cheap replacements. But what of this monstrous, antique clock?  Ornate, and confoundingly intricate–great when functioning, but God forbid it stops or breaks on your watch…which is precisely what it did.

I work in an old manor-house-turned-office, and my desk faces a perpetually chiming grandfather clock.  For the first time in two years, the pendulum ceased to swing and the complex gear system ground to a halt.  To my horror, the clock appeared broken, and it would be my irreversible fault.

However, this proved to be a unique opportunity!  As I opened, examined, and tinkered with the clock’s inner-workings, I was fascinated by the quality of its craftsmanship.  There was a distinct logic and flare in its design, like a Rube Goldberg contraption from pre-iThing imaginations.

And that’s precisely it–an abundance of imagination and artistry were used to complement the simple utility of timekeeping with beauty.  Was it the most efficient clock, or the simplest user experience?  Of course not!  It instead assumes and reflects a society willing to appreciate the nature of time, leisure, intricacies of thought and culture, rather than the bloated selfie-hedonism of today.  Thus, in a world that worships progress and glorifies technology, a grandfather clock is an odd remnant-reminder of curiously conservative values.