# Do you feel it's important for younger generations to be able to read an analog clock? If so why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 19, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820 "2026-02-19T17:30:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/81 "2026-02-19T23:06:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > how A&W’s 1/3 pound burger failed against McD’s 1/4 pounder [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EMNqJQaf08E/maxresdefault.jpg "The A&W 3/9 lb. Burger | A&W Restaurants") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNqJQaf08E) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/82 "2026-02-19T23:06:40Z")
How is the next generation going to pass their annual Medicare health assessments if they can’t draw a clock that reads 9:50 or whatever? I personally think it’s important to be able to read an analog clock just as it’s important to be able to read cursive writing. Once learned, it’s something you always have. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/83 "2026-02-19T23:14:41Z")
Furthermore, as I noted, there’s the general impact of analog clock reading on basic cognition involving spatial angle quantification, spatial orientation, circle geometry, etc. No, in theory we don’t need that area of cognitive enrichment to be linked specifically to telling time, but it does happen to be one of the brain-boosting value-adds that time-telling with analog clocks has historically provided. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/84 "2026-02-19T23:19:27Z")
Valid points But in order for this to work doesn’t that mean they need to use an analog clock all the time? I’m perfectly capable of reading and analog clock. But I don’t because I don’t have any in my house and I just never see them or notice them around. I mean it’s like an exercise isn’t it? If you don’t use it you lose it? ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/85 "2026-02-19T23:31:00Z")
I don’t know, but I find that skills that have gotten rusty are quick to come back. 40 years ago I was a Russian linguist. I stopped using it when I got out of the Navy and didn’t give it much of a thought for about 15 years when I started working with a Russian. At the time I had to really focus on reading Cyrillic letters, and do a lot of translating in my head. Within a few weeks it became second nature again, and I started reading books in Russian and watching movies in Russian. Even today I still sometimes dream in Russian. As they say - some things are like riding a bike. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/86 "2026-02-19T23:32:53Z")
But you can’t do that if you never learn it in the first place. Learning a language at 17 was easy. Now, I might have some problems. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/87 "2026-02-19T23:50:07Z")
To answer the title of the thread: yes, I think it’s important, if not critical to survival, if nothing else for > [@Grrr](#): > > aesthetic purposes. Knowing how dials and analog clocks work adds a dimension to one’s apprehension of the world and the way it works. The world spins, the planet circles, the music of the sphere’s is mostly circular-ish. I don’t remember for sure, but I don’t think it is coincidental that there are 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle, and the latter is also useful knowledge. The analogy to cursive writing is apt, I think. You might not encounter it very often, but if your Aunt Mary sends you a nice hand-written note with your birthday check, in her spidery Spencerian writing, it would be nice to be able to read and respond to it. Even nicer would be if you could hand-write a response (anyway, she would think it was nicer than typing it). Did you ever send anyone a condolence note or card? Typescript is very cold in such circumstances. So knowing both of these things makes you a better-rounded, more civilized individual. It is not necessary to survival, usually, to be well-rounded, but it does make you more interesting to other people, and the world more interesting to you. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/88 "2026-02-19T23:57:06Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I don’t remember for sure, but I don’t think it is coincidental that there are 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle, and the latter is also useful knowledge. 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle both stem from the Babylonian number system, which was base(ish) 60 (the “base” of a number system isn’t perfectly well-defined for non-place-value systems). 360 degrees in a circle was probably also influenced by being close to 365 days in a year (so the Sun would move close to 1 degree per day, relative to the background stars). ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/89 "2026-02-19T23:58:06Z")
> [@solost](#): > > What about the ‘draw a clock face’ part of the standard cognitive test? I wonder if, as our Millenials and Zoomers begin to age, some might inadvertently be misdiagnosed with incipient dementia because they fail the ‘draw a clock face’ test, but only because they were never familiar with what it looks like or how it works to begin with. The more likely scenario: some X-Gener will mistakenly pass a dementia test because the Zoomer giving the test won’t know what the correct answer should be and just says “whatever”. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/90 "2026-02-19T23:58:08Z")
Imho analog clocks are a great introduction to numbers. It can help a child make a physical connection with numbers. The clock was on the 10 and now it’s 20. 10 minutes has passed. The child can literally see the seconds hand moving. The minutes hand is on 45. It’s 15 mins until the next hour. That’s a demonstration of subtraction. Best of all it’s done in their heads. No one is writing down 60 - 40. _You look at the clock and know it’s 20 till the next hour_. The use of a analog clock requires the child to think about numbers throughout the day. They don’t realize they’re practicing math. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/91 "2026-02-19T23:58:24Z")
This is what a well-rounded base of knowledge can provide. I would happily converse with you at a party. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/92 "2026-02-20T00:08:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle both stem from the Babylonian number system, which was base(ish) 60 (the “base” of a number system isn’t perfectly well-defined for non-place-value systems). 360 degrees in a circle was probably also influenced by being close to 365 days in a year (so the Sun would move close to 1 degree per day, relative to the background stars). Let’s extend that out to latitude and longitude, and once you also understand that 1 nautical mile = ~6000 ft\* = 1 minute of latitude it becomes very easy to understand that the circumference of Earth is 21600 nautical miles. This is also why it’s important for mariners and aviators to use knots (nm/h) instead of mph for measuring speed. \*It’s actually 6076 ft. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/93 "2026-02-20T00:12:24Z")
I think it makes the most sense for all people to be able to read a sundial. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/94 "2026-02-20T00:16:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But it made me wonder: just how hard is it to learn how to read an analog clock? Pretty dang hard for some of us. There was never any formal instruction about time-telling until 2nd grade at my school. The teacher spent about 30 minutes on the topic, then announced a test for the next day. When I got home with my assignment that afternoon, it became very clear to my parents that I couldn’t read an analog clock at all (my mom was convinced that the teacher couldn’t either, given how it was basically glossed over in class). For the rest of the afternoon and evening, my parents tried to teach me to read a clock. I don’t remember how I did on the test, but I still couldn’t read an analog clock after that. By the time I was in junior high I could, but I had to study the clock face for an uncomfortably long period of time; if someone asked me for the time, I would often just hold out my watch so they could see the face. For what it’s worth, I was always on the honor roll, and was never identified as needing any type of special education. I don’t have problems with other kinds of analog dials (pressure gauges, for instance), I don’t have problems understanding clockwise vs counterclockwise rotation, and I don’t have spatial issues. I just struggle with clock faces. At least I can read and write cursive, so I guess that’s something. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/95 "2026-02-20T00:17:15Z")
It makes old people feel less old if people keep using antiquated technology. It’s why I still send telegrams. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/96 "2026-02-20T00:23:15Z")
Yeah I think there’s a lot of sentimental emotions that go into it. I’ve seen video after video of Boomers and GenXer’s complaing: ”OMG! The kids can’t read a clock! We are doomed!” I feel like it’s over the top and ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/97 "2026-02-20T00:23:25Z")
> [@Thumper668](#): > > Um, just about every classroom in America. Not in my daughter’s high school. Only digital “LED” ones. There are analog clocks all over our office. Since we came back from COVID four years ago, one after another they are running out of battery and not getting them replaced. No one could be arsed. We get the time on our laptops and phones. I do have three analog clocks on my walls at home. They have the approximate correct time and I do change them when DST comes in and out. But I never use them for actually telling time. They are purely decorative as far as we are concerned. The one in the dining room matches the window hardware in that room. The one in the kitchen has a culinary background. The one in the sunroom has a nautical one, as does the furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/98 "2026-02-20T00:23:30Z")
Lololol IIRC this was the topic of my very first (and a bit brash and assholish tbh) post on these boards! 🤣 > [@Why do circles have 360 degrees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-circles-have-360-degrees/518/10): > > Stop, stop, everybody STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!!! Whew. Sorry. I let the WSH get away with a reply that, while a little fuzzy, was not really wrong, but the level of misinformation has since been growing exponentially and I have to jump in. Okay! First things first: When we talk about the Babylonian influence on the number of degrees in a circle, we are not talking about Sumerians (of whose achievements in geometry or astronomy we still know very little) but about their Semitic successors, the Ba… ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/99 "2026-02-20T00:38:30Z")
Agreed. Analog clocks are a great introduction to fractions as well, specifically halves, quarters, and twelfths; certain geometry concepts like right angles (3 o’clock and 9 o’clock) and similarity. At my university, official test time is still kept with analog clocks. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820/100 "2026-02-20T00:39:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Digital clocks are only more intuitive if you consider the goal to be to know the precise time right this moment. If, however, you want to know relative times, like how much longer until class is over, analog is much more intuitive. Right now, the minute hand is here. At the end of class, it’ll be there. The amount of time until then is how big that angle is. Let’s talk ADHD. A lot of people with this condition (including a lot of youngsters) have an issue known as time blindness. It means two things - they are bad at estimating how long something is going to take, and they are unaware of the passage of time. A large number of ADHD individuals report that analog clocks help them with time blindness. When time becomes visual, it can be processed in chunks, and it can be more easily monitored. Analog clocks, are of course, full of time chunks. You got your chunks of 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 right there. I live by the [Time Timer](https://a.co/d/0brmW6l2) (I’m using one right now) which is a countdown timer in the shape of a clock with a colored pie slice that gets thinner and thinner as time wears down. We have one in every room of the house. My husband recommends them to his clients with ADHD: “This could do nothing for you, or it could completely change your life. Try it.” I’m one of the life-changed people. My son who also has ADHD measures time in multiple ways, including analog clocks, the Time Timer, and sand timers of various increments. The idea is that he needs to actually see the passage of time. He reads analogs like a champ. It took him approximately five minutes to learn. My vote is teach analog clocks, both because it has been demonstrated upthread to improve visual spatial relations (we’ve got research on our side) and because there are a lot of ADHD kids out there, many of them who are not diagnosed, and it would be trivially easy to give them this tool that could really help them understand time. (Also, **Chronos**? Username is on point today.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-its-important-for-younger-generations-to-be-able-to-read-an-analog-clock-if-so-why/1027820.md?page=6)