Brainstorming about history, politics, literature, religion, and other topics from a 'gypsy' scholar on a wagon hitched to a star.
If a clock is broken, it ain't keeping time, so it can't ever be right. Technically, it can't be wrong, either.Timely Advice"A broken clock is not right twice a day."
Labels: Art
posted by Horace Jeffery Hodges @ 6:27 AM
9 comments
I am a retired professor. I last taught at Ewha Womans University, mostly composition, research writing, and cultural issues, but also the occasional graduate seminar on Gnosticism and Johannine theology and the occasional undergraduate course on European history. My doctorate is in history (U.C. Berkeley), with emphasis on religion and science. My thesis is on John's gospel and Gnosticism. I'm also an award-winning writer, and I recommend my novella, The Bottomless Bottle of Beer, to anyone interested. I'm originally from the Arkansas Ozarks, but my academic career -- funded through doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships (e.g., Fulbright, Naumann, Lady Davis) -- has taken me through Texas, California, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, and Israel and has landed me in Seoul, South Korea. I've also traveled to Mexico, visited much of Europe, including Moscow, and touched down briefly in a few East Asian countries. Hence: "Gypsy Scholar."
9 Comments:
This well-known aphorism is technically misstated. It should read, "A broken clock displays the right time twice a day."
TBH, I think you're right that a rewording can save this aphorism, but is "display" the word to turn to? It seems to imply some intentionality that wouldn't be there.
Jeffery Hodges
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How about "shows"?
Depicts? Inscribes? Illustrates? Demonstrates? Brands?
I'll have to think about this. I just spent some time looking up words that might work . . . but they didn't.
Jeffery Hodges
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Maybe something like:
"A broken clock reflects the right time twice a day."
Not entirely satisfying, though.
Jeffery Hodges
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And don't forget:
"A broken sundial is only a shadow of its former glory."
Jeffery Hodges
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How about: "A broken clock corresponds to the right time twice a day."
Maybe. That might be about as good as we can get it. Our aphorism isn't sounding very aphoristic, though, is it? Ah, well, beauty must be sacrificed for truth . . . despite Keats.
Jeffery Hodges
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