# RO: This is totally going to kill Bring Your Clock to School Day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454 "2015-09-16T08:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 40
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/781 "2015-09-24T13:56:21Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Interesting, **steronz**. I’m convinced–looks like my information was old and only applied to his previous handle. > > At the same time, this also undermines some of your presumption about how much careful preparation would be required before he would tweet. He might have just seen a bit of the press conference, composed a tweet, showed it to his aides, then pressed “send”. Very true. I did hurt my own case there 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/782 "2015-09-24T13:58:11Z")
Does anyone think Obama would have sent that tweet if he had seen the video of how the clock was “made”? ETA: It’s not like he couldn’t have taken a stand against putting a nonviolent 14 year old in handcuffs, without making it appear he was actually impressed with such a shitty “invention”. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/783 "2015-09-24T13:58:29Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Should I keep looking? Only if you really like fishing, and then only if you like catching red herring. See [post #769](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18713095&postcount=769) for a good explanation. “Cool clock” isn’t really about the construction of the clock. Obama or his twitter team could’ve sent that tweet without ever seeing a photo of the actual clock, or even after assuming the clock was a miserably executed pencil case of junk, and it wouldn’t have invalidated the purpose of the message. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/784 "2015-09-24T13:59:31Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Does anyone think Obama would have sent that tweet if he had seen the video of how the clock was “made”? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/785 "2015-09-24T14:00:18Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Does anyone think Obama would have sent that tweet if he had seen the video of how the clock was “made”? Does anyone think Obama sent the tweet because he thought the boy was a genius inventor? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/786 "2015-09-24T14:03:40Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > Does anyone think Obama sent the tweet because he thought the boy was a genius inventor? I absolutely believe he thought the kid was what his dad claimed: a well above average (“genius” is setting the bar too high) tech hobbyist. Which, if he is such, is not evidenced by this “invention”. And I say this as a defense of a president I have generally strongly supported (with any caveats to that generally coming as a critique from his left). ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/787 "2015-09-24T14:09:49Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Hentor, I will concede that technically the tweet hit the twitterverse following the press conference, but I will say that the tweet went viral well before the picture of the clock did, so it’s certainly understandable that people think the tweet came first. When the mayor of Irving said it, I had no reason to question it. > > Furthermore, the tweet went out at 12:58pm EST and the [press conference _started_ at 12:00pm EST](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/northwest-dallas-county/headlines/20150915-irving-ninth-grader-arrested-after-taking-homemade-clock-to-school.ece). That leaves a scant 58 minutes for the press conference to get underway, the picture to be shown (it was printed out and stuck to a piece of foam board, it seems), news people to publish their stories of the clock along with the picture, Obama’s people to review the picture, craft a tweet, vet it however the POTUS tweets get vetted, and then send it out. 58 minutes. > > So yes, you win, it’s technically possible that Obama laid eyes on the picture of the clock before approving that tweet. It still seems unlikely to me. Even if he did, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for thoughtful consideration or consulting with an electronics guru who could point out that the clock was a ramshackle mess. You still don’t get it - you’ll never get it. The tweet was NOT about the clock itself. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/788 "2015-09-24T14:12:03Z")
**Steronz** , can you demonstrate that Obama tweeted at 12:58 pm EST? Apparently the time stamp of a tweet depends on where you are when you receive it. The images posted by the Dallas news orgs show 12:58 pm, which I am assuming occurred in their time zone. So it would seem there was an hour and 58 minutes between the start of the press conference and Obama’s tweet. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/789 "2015-09-24T14:13:23Z")
> [@simster](#): > > You still don’t get it - you’ll never get it. > > The tweet was NOT about the clock itself. > > Get over it. Thanks bro, that’s sweet of you. I was responding to a specific accusation from Hentor about the timing of the tweet. If the timing didn’t matter, blame him. If Obama just wanted to tweet about kids doing cool science shit, there’s [better examples out there](https://www.rt.com/usa/316250-teen-invents-ebola-test-google/). ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/790 "2015-09-24T14:14:43Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > **Steronz** , can you demonstrate that Obama tweeted at 12:58 pm EST? Apparently the time stamp of a tweet depends on where you are when you receive it. The images posted by the Dallas news orgs show 12:58 pm, which I am assuming occurred in their time zone. > > So it would seem there was an hour and 58 minutes between the start of the press conference and Obama’s tweet. Yeah, go look at the tweet yourself, it will adjust to your time zone. If I’m not logged into twitter it defaults to PST, 9:58am. When I log in to twitter it shows 12:58, and I’m in eastern time. 58 minutes. Deal with it. eta: (This just means the dallas news folks didn’t take their own screenshot. Lazy bastards). ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/791 "2015-09-24T14:15:50Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Thanks bro, that’s sweet of you. I was responding to a specific accusation from Hentor about the timing of the tweet. If the timing didn’t matter, blame him. > > If Obama just wanted to tweet about kids doing cool science shit, there’s [better examples out there](https://www.rt.com/usa/316250-teen-invents-ebola-test-google/). I was responidng to your last sentence - to wit - > [@](#): > > So yes, you win, it’s technically possible that Obama laid eyes on the picture of the clock before approving that tweet. It still seems unlikely to me. Even if he did, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for thoughtful consideration or consulting with an electronics guru who could point out that the clock was a ramshackle mess. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/792 "2015-09-24T14:18:31Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > And I say this as a defense of a president I have generally **strongly supported** (with any caveats to that generally coming as a critique from his left). (Bolding added.) So are you aware of the [Startup America initiative](https://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/business/startup-america), launched in 2011 by the White House? Part of this is a strong and sustained push by POTUS to get young students (K-12) involved in STEM and “youth entrenpeneurship”. Obama has throughout his presidency taken opportunities to talk about youth engagement in invention and development of future technologies. This is just another opportunity to get that message out. The tweet, very simply and directly, has nothing to do with any perceived intellectual or technical standing of Ahmed Mohamed, and has everything to do with modelling the way Obama would prefer youths to be encouraged. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/793 "2015-09-24T14:18:45Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I absolutely believe he thought the kid was what his dad claimed: a well above average (“genius” is setting the bar too high) tech hobbyist. Which, if he is such, is not evidenced by this “invention”. If that was the reason, why doesn’t he invite every little inventor to the white house? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/794 "2015-09-24T14:20:06Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Thanks bro, that’s sweet of you. I was responding to a specific accusation from Hentor about the timing of the tweet. If the timing didn’t matter, blame him. > > If Obama just wanted to tweet about kids doing cool science shit, there’s [better examples out there](https://www.rt.com/usa/316250-teen-invents-ebola-test-google/). It wasn’t just about doing cool science shit. How can you not get that? Are you being deliberately obtuse? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/795 "2015-09-24T14:22:03Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Yeah, go look at the tweet yourself, it will adjust to your time zone. If I’m not logged into twitter it defaults to PST, 9:58am. When I log in to twitter it shows 12:58, and I’m in eastern time. > > 58 minutes. Deal with it. > > eta: (This just means the dallas news folks didn’t take their own screenshot. Lazy bastards). Deal with it? You’re suggesting that you’ve presented some kind of significant challenge to the idea that Obama saw an image of the clock before he tweeted? Because perhaps only an hour elapsed between the events? Yeah, boy, what a conundrum! There must be a conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/796 "2015-09-24T14:24:11Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Deal with it? You’re suggesting that you’ve presented some kind of significant challenge to the idea that Obama saw an image of the clock before he tweeted? Because perhaps only an hour elapsed between the events? > > Yeah, boy, what a conundrum! There must be a conspiracy. I’ll retract my snark if you retract your “couple of hours” claim and we can still be friends, OK? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/797 "2015-09-24T14:27:48Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > It wasn’t just about doing cool science shit. How can you not get that? Are you being deliberately obtuse? It was about not discouraging a kid who was showing an interest in electronics. It doesn’t matter how bad his electronics were, nobody should be discouraged, especially kids, and especially kids interested in STEM fields. Kids should learn that if they express an interest in science, they should feel welcome and understood and be praised for their work. They certainly shouldn’t be harassed and arrested, and Obama was showing the kids of the world that none of this nonsense would have happened if more adults appreciated creative, out of the box thinking. Is that it? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/798 "2015-09-24T14:29:59Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > (Bolding added.) > > So are you aware of the [Startup America initiative](https://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/business/startup-america), launched in 2011 by the White House? Part of this is a strong and sustained push by POTUS to get young students (K-12) involved in STEM and “youth entrenpeneurship”. > > Obama has throughout his presidency taken opportunities to talk about youth engagement in invention and development of future technologies. This is just another opportunity to get that message out. The tweet, very simply and directly, has nothing to do with any perceived intellectual or technical standing of Ahmed Mohamed, and has everything to do with modelling the way Obama would prefer youths to be encouraged. I was not specifically aware of that initiative, but it doesn’t surprise me and I like it. However, in this case I think if he had a better sense of what this “invention” really was, he’d see its potential to [backfire.](http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/09/21/judge-napolitano-potential-fraud-case-if-ahmed-mohameds-clock-was-purposeful-hoax) (And no, I don’t frequent that site: this is the top trending topic on Facebook right now.) ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/799 "2015-09-24T14:35:29Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > In view of **doorhinge** ’s [peculiar naming conventions](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdb/showpost.php?p=17150095&postcount=754) in his many Bridgegate posts, I’m surprised he doesn’t refer to Ahmed as “Hoax Bomb Mohamed.” Awww. It’s nice to know you’re thinking about me. Have you finally come to the conclusion that Christie was NOT involved in Bridgegate, and that all of those LSM “reports” suggesting otherwise were wrong? ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/800 "2015-09-24T14:38:09Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > It was about not discouraging a kid who was showing an interest in electronics. It doesn’t matter how bad his electronics were, nobody should be discouraged, especially kids, and especially kids interested in STEM fields. Kids should learn that if they express an interest in science, they should feel welcome and understood and be praised for their work. They certainly shouldn’t be harassed and arrested, and Obama was showing the kids of the world that none of this nonsense would have happened if more adults appreciated creative, out of the box thinking. > Is that it? Almost. Add in the fact that the story had gone viral and it was a ready-made opportunity for using social networks to push that message of encouragement -the same message POTUS has been pushing for many years- and you have the reason for the tweet. By the time the tweet was sent -whether anyone at the White House had even seen a photo of the clock or not- it was known that: [ul] [li]the “clock” was an actual clock, not a countdown timer in a box[/li][li]Ahmed had never claimed it as anything _except_ a clock, and[/li][li]despite knowing the “clock” was just a clock, school authorities and Irving police had disciplined, handcuffed and detained Ahmed[/li][/ul] _Of course_ they tweeted about it. And _of course_ they invited Ahmed to an already scheduled upcoming science-oriented event for kids at the White House. Big free public boost to their long-time ongoing efforts to involve more kids in science and technology. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=41)