How are you with reading clocks?

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I might just be an idiot but I always have trouble with the little hand. When I ask for the time and people show me their watch, I often smile and nod, "Thank you!" And walk away, never knowing the correct time. It takes me a little while, so I don't want to stand there staring at it while they wait. I also hate expressions like, "It's fifteen after/til". That damn unreliable little hour hand.

Also, I have a tendency to literally feel time passing me by. I have to think out my schedule and, that, takes time.

Last edited by lovecholie on 20 Feb 2009, 8:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I am good with reading clocks.

Let me guess, and you're good at reading maps.

I'm like Joey from Friends, I have to literally step into the map.

Perhaps there are two kinds of people: those who can read clocks and those who can't. Or perhaps, there are those who can, and just me.

I'm good at reading clocks, however I think a friend of mine struggles with time a bit.

very good

Horrible.

I now own an analogue watch so I manage to read it after some time half the time.

But I also have trouble with understanding digital clocks/time itself. Meaning, I fail to recognise that if I need to leave at... 15:00 that 14:47 means I should almost be ready because 14:47 is a close to 15:00.

I also find it takes a lot of time to figure out how much time I have left until a certain point. Or how much time has passed, despite that I have the times written down or know them.

I don't have that sudden insight and sudden experience of comprehension of how one time relates to another unless I take my time to think about it.

I can read clocks, but it takes a moment. I can't just look and know semi-instantly, in the same way I can look at a word, or a digital clock display, and instantly know.

I have to think "ok, where's the short hand, ok it looks like 4 is just behind it, that means it's 4 something, ok the long hand is pointed at 4 times 5 it's 4:20"
and yes, like you said, if a stranger holds out his watch for me.. there's no way. i just pretend to look and then thank them. i mean, i do actually look, sometimes it's an easy time like noon and i actually do get to know right away.

Terrible! I've gotten way better at it lately but I still suck.

Up until recently I would actually point at the numbers and go "5..10..15..20.." to figure out the minutes lol. I also don't like the fact that it's not 100% accurate.. its more like a guestimate and I hate that!

I have no difficulties with reading clocks.

The face of time topic

Reading clocks is all about the shape the hands take. I am surprised people on the Spectrum have a problem, unless dyslexia is involved. I guess visual folks like myself have an easier time!

My NT kids prefer digital readouts. If I read the digital time I have to translate it into the shape of the hands on the clock face.

very good at reading clocks, and if someone asks me what time it is I tell them exactly like, "it's 22 minutes past 9"

I had an argument with a cousin once about which one of our watches was half a second out (I absolutely HAVE to have my watch telling the exact right time). And I do always give the time at least to the nearest minute.

With regards to how well I can read watches, I find that I can read analogue ones fairly easily, but I can never get my head around digital ones. If it is 7:58 and I have to go somewhere at 8, I will actually start doing things to pass the time before I go if I am using a digital clock, and then suddenly panic when it's time to go. If I used an analogue one though I would think something on the lines of "oh well, I might as well leave now".

yea using digital clocks for me is like using an image of someone counting on their fingers to display time... not helpful at all

completely agree with sartresue regarding 'translating' digital clocks into the 'shape' of the analogue face!

but i do like analogue clocks. i actually like watching them tick. the awesome thing about analogue watches is that you can hold them to your ear and they tick in your ear and iono why it's so much more effective as a calming strategy than nearly anything else the psychologist tells you to do!

AND yea they're much better for me to tell time, heh

I learned when I was 4. I have always been fascinated with clocks and watches.

I didn't know the months of the year (jan, feb, etc) in order until I was like 22. Never learned verbs, adjectives, (dont know any of the others)... ah, noun!.. But could win the spelling b in class through reasoning other peoples mistakes. Seems quite common.

I hate that too...someone says "Quarter to." then you have to ask "Quarter to what?"



I have the same problem...I try to practice with an analogue clock, but my watch died, and I took the batteries out of my wall clock because I can't stand the ticking.

It certainly didn't help that in third grade, my teacher realized that nobody had taught me how to read clocks...so she sat me down and had me do some Apple ][ programs to try to learn, but I never really did completely get the hang of it. I always have to sit and stare at it for a while...and I'll go "Oh, okay, it's 5:45." but then I have to remember that the big hand isn't pointing at the 5, it's still working its way there, so it's actually 4:45.

I think if I had a clock that had digital hours and analogue minutes (with the fives already multiplied), that would be perfect, to have the best of both worlds.