This proverb is one of the age old classics. “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” But is it? What does “right” truly mean?

I started pondering this question because I recently heard it in a discussion about something (I don’t remember where), but I don’t think they were insulting me at the time, nor were they of me. Frankly, it may have been me that said it or I just dreamed it.

That’s how you cover your bases, either I or someone said it, maybe I dreamed it, or it could be anyone else on the earth. Everyone and no one can be offended.

What is right?

An age-old question asked of schoolchildren everywhere. If I asked you what 1 + 1 is, and you said 2. That is the right answer. But how did you get that answer? “Well, I got out my phone and asked “what is…” (which is the newfangled version of getting out a calculator, which was preceded by a slide rule, which was preceded by just counting on your fingers.) Basically, I am pretty sure that almost all improvements in mathematics were just more and more different ways for kids to cheat. What if they said they said “well, 1 times 0 is 1, and 1 times 1 is 2. Right?” One right answer, given in the wrong way validates wrongness pretty quickly.

But if you stumble upon the right answer occasionally, can you really be right?

Then there is the matter of how right is the answer anyhow? If the clock has an hour, minute, and second hand, it can only be right for 1 second a day. Without the second hand, it is right around 1 minute. Take off the minute hand, and we are looking at 30 minutes to an hour depending on your point of view.

So yeah I have to admit, the clock does show the right time for two time periods a day. Or if the clock has no hands, it is always correct. Sort of. I mean that clock picture is stuck at the perfect point. 5 o’clock on Friday (I extrapolated the Friday part for my own happiness)

Better clocks are never perfectly correct

Most of the clocks you come in contact with are never right. I doubt that even my electronic devices that sync to very specific time servers are even perfectly correct. But does it matter? Consider the clock on your stove. When the power goes out, you have to set this thing. And you set it reasonably close. Like if it is 5 or so minutes off in either direction, who cares? You just use it to realize when to get to work after breakfast, or to have a guess when the roast is ready. That 5 minutes makes no difference at all.

But a broken clock, even though it is for one fleeting period of time 100% correct, this fact actually hurts its credibility. Because when something is right once, you don’t expect it to be wrong the second time. So when you forget that the clock on the wall is eternally at 8:55, but you are actually 2 hours late because it is truly 10:43, it has caused you harm.

The point, if there is one

The point is to realize that being right once doesn’t make you right all the time, and perhaps more importantly, being close to right is often better is usually good enough versus being perfect. Now if I can just get my brain to realize that.

So I am today proposing a change to the proverb to be, “Even a broken clock appears to be right twice a day”.