> I found it enlightening to ponder the history of clocks. There was a time nobody needed one; it wasn't actually useful for anything[0], because nothing in agricultural societies happened fast enough to require hour or minute accuracy.
This seems a rather dubious claim, for something invented and used for more than 3000 years (see sundials and water clocks - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock). Uses mentioned incidentally in that wikipedia article seem to include religious observances, astronomy, astrology, watches (as in “night watch”).
Also, as I understand it, the navigation use wasn’t really practical until precise clocks were developed in the 18th century.
This seems a rather dubious claim, for something invented and used for more than 3000 years (see sundials and water clocks - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock). Uses mentioned incidentally in that wikipedia article seem to include religious observances, astronomy, astrology, watches (as in “night watch”).
Also, as I understand it, the navigation use wasn’t really practical until precise clocks were developed in the 18th century.