There is an iPhone app called Countdown Pro which is a backwards moving digital clock that counts down from any duration in days, hours, minutes and seconds, allowing you to input multiple events on far off dates and then keep tabs on their impending arrival. I suppose the app is one way to grasp time’s ongoing flow and the metamessage here is that you don’t have all the time in the world.
On a related note, a regular forward moving clock can take on new meanings when there’s text instructions directly underneath it. Chef Thomas Keller has harnessed the power of this juxtaposition on the kitchen walls of his restaurants The French Laundry and Per Se where one sees this:
No matter how it’s counted, time is fleeting.
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