Tick- tock: The Church made history as an early owner of sundial clocks. The Vatican could well afford the useful new technology. Later, priests also applauded the advent of the mechanical clock. The mechanical clock signaled notifications and modeled the solar system. Both functions supported prevailing theology. Once placed in control of the tower bells, the new machine helped synchronized the tempo of religious activity in the surrounding parish. Congregants now marched in measured step with religious authority, night and day. When the bells rang at canonical hours, peasants stopped their work in the fields, and bowed their heads in prayer…. The Angelus by Jean-Francois Mallet captures this spirit of submission. Today, the computer provides a modern analog of the clock. But the extent of computer-assisted intrusions in the daily lives of average Americans-- by big business and big government --remains a well-guarded secret today. Not coincidentally, credit reports and NSA dossiers share much in common. But then again, institutions in the late 13th century tended de rigeur to be more honest than any dare today. Or, one might even say, those early institutions lacked the technical capability to be covertly fully corrupt.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 03:03:47 +0000
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