Big Ben

The best way to understand the digital, is in terms of its analogical. But what does digital mean? The idea of numbers is the most basic form of digital but digital doesn’t have to be binary, digital breaks things down into discrete units, (language, writing, the mechanical clock, printing). It is arbitrary which means one-to-one correspondence. On the other end of the spectrum the analogical uses continuous media. One example is art, which cannot isolate its units. Another example is the analogical clock. One of the most famous analogical clocks is located in London England and known as Big Ben. Big Ben is the largest 4-faced analogical clock in the world. The clock tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of both London and England, particularly in the visual media. Not only has Big Ben been the source of time for London but has also served as one of England’s cultural landmarks. I believe analogical clocks overtime have served as more than just a time source for many of our cultures, Big Ben being one of those traditions. Cathedrals all over the world still use analogical clocks to send off alarms throughout the day informing people to come to services. This is also a tradition that has become a part of our history and still continues to this day. Although they may be other ways to inform the people of the services with the technological advances we have made, it is the tradition and the representation of this clock that encourages people to keep analogical clocks around. It is the same reason why we still make watches that display the analogical clock as opposed to the digital face. We continue this tradition because it is the particular style that reminds us what the analogical clock represents. It becomes more than just a source of time; the analogical clock represents a thought process of all other possibilities, not just the single minded representation that we get from the digital clock.

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