What time is it?

In Natural-Born Cyborgs, Clark talks about the invention of the wristwatch—and by extension, the notion of time itself, as a prime example of technology making us more rather than less human. Consider that in the modern era, we use time as a metric to organize, plan, and motivate our activities across an entire day, month, or even year (indeed, the very notions of days, months, and years are themselves inventions of the very concept of time). Prior to time as a “thing,” early humans would organize their lives around their ability to hunt during the day and sleep at night, and they would make inferences about different climates based on obvious changes in air temperature over long periods. Yet, they did not schedule appointments around hunting, gathering, eating, and sleeping. These “day-to-day” activities were largely at the whim of impulse and opportunity—early humans hunted when they saw prey and slept when they were tired.

Fast forward today, when we have set defined periods for breakfast (mornings, for sake of argument we will say 8:00 a.m.), lunch (noon), and dinner (6:00 p.m., although these meal times might not match up well with your daily habits). Having such a set schedule allows us to plan the rest of our work and sleep schedule so that we can arrange an efficient and productive daily routine, coordinating time for college courses as well as a vibrant social life. In fact, Clark would argue that this reliance on time is part of our cyborg nature: a biological species that have integrated an artificial (that is, not biological or natural to us) tool into our lives in order to help us live.

How do you think your life (on campus or off) would change if there was no concept of time?

Time is a concept that controls our daily and really entire lives.  Time controls almost every choice we make, how we decide when to do daily activities and how we plan to live out our entire lives.  Though many associate all types of technology as non-human and consider our use of them to be dehumanizing, in Natural-Born Cyborgs Clark suggests the opposite.  He states that using technology actually makes us more human; we are in fact using technology as a tool to improve upon and allow us to do the things that make us human like connect with others and entertain ourselves.  This can be connected with the creation of the watch and in turn our aspect of time.  Our lives are truly run by time and we have certainly grown and adapted since we have discovered this aspect of time.  Having the ability to know when we should eat and sleep and do other necessary and non-necessary daily activities is what makes our society so functional.  Prior to knowing ‘time’, humans would not have been able to plan ahead to create any form of schooling, scheduling or even planning for upcoming seasons or events.  We often say that we loose track of time, but even when we momentarily move through time without being aware of it we still immediately return to focusing on the time.  I know that my life would change drastically if there were no concept of time.  My job of being a preschool teacher may simply no longer exist in the way that it does, as parents would not drop their kids off at certain times.  We would also have no concept of when to go to work other than depending on the sun or the moon.  Universities would not be able to function in order to have classes if there was no ability to set a universal time for meeting. Our modern world simply could not function the way that it does without the concept of time.  Though it can seem that being so tied down to the concept time makes us loose our humanity; it is also what makes us human in our modern world.

If there was no concept of time, I think that my life would be a little more hectic. Having a schedule each day definitely helps me to plan out when to do things and for how long. I like using schedules because I feel like I accomplish more in my day by using one. If I were to do things at any time of the day, I feel like I wouldn’t get as many things done because it would be difficult to understand how long I’ve been doing something for and how long the next thing may take. Without concept of time, I also think that my days would be much more difficult because I would be guessing what “time” of the day it was and I think that could get pretty messy. Going to classes for example, would be very difficult because if there is no concept of time, no one would know when to meet for class. This can be a similar situation for going to work because if I showed up at my job at a time of the day that I wanted to or that I thought would be good, it might not work for the company because there may be too many employees working there at the same time. Overall, I think that having times for things, while it can be stressful with busy schedules, does benefit our days with more structure.

I would not be able to imagine my life without a concept of precise time. Today for example I had to meet with 3 clients, and then a business meeting. My first meeting was at 9:00 to bring a client to a volunteer site, a second client at 12:00 to bring to an interview, a meeting at 1:30, and then a final client at 3:00 to work on career skills. Without having these individuals at precise times, written on my phone calendar no less, I would most likely be out of a job for disorganization and the inability to meet with everyone. Primitive concepts of time would have failed me. By no means would I have been able to meet with any of these individuals based upon the sun's location, or impulse. Similarly, while my schedule this previous semester was not as difficult, as a full time student and employee, my schedule was often hectic having classes in the morning, then work, then classes at night. Had it not been for very precise I would have been unable to engage in classes. Looking back to the business environment, one of the most critical aspects many individuals see in regards to employment in punctuality, When helping other individuals write resumes, or prepare for interviews, one aspect I always tell them to mention, especially if they are struggling to find easy to mention skills, is punctuality. Speaking anecdotally, employers are more willing to train a person who is punctual, then employ a person with the skills they already need and have that individual be late. With no concept of time, this would not exist. Even from a non professional setting, just being able to meet with family or friends for dinner, events and entertainment would be impossible without our current concept of time.

I think my life would go to hell in a hand basket pretty quickly if there was no concept of time. Even basic things would become unnecessarily difficult to manage or plan. I get up every morning at the same time because it sets the routine for the rest of my day. I need to eat every two hours so it would be impossible to manage my diet whether I was bulking or cutting. I may overdo it in the gym because rest time is equally as important as how many reps I’m doing or how much weight I am loading. This may not be a problem immediately, but it could manifest itself and eventually lead to serious injury at some point. I also would have a difficult time adjusting to not thinking like a civilian and my wife would be a trainwreck. Most veterans live by the “if you aren’t fifteen minutes early, you’re fifteen minutes late.” And that tends to set us apart from the majority of people. In the modern world, punctuality is exceptionally important. The rush or lack thereof could cause fatal mistakes behind the wheel of a car or if someone is in need of medical assistance. Doctors or EMT’s may oversleep. It may not have been entirely their fault if they weren’t in a situation to be woken up by the sun but someone’s life could be on the line.