Error Is Keeping Time

In Error Is Keeping Time, a digital clock repeatedly lags, skips seconds, and tries to catch up. Its program models energy loss, friction, and the accumulation of error in mechanical timekeeping, with the display and sound responding to its changing state. A clock with an exposed mechanical movement runs independently alongside it, supplying no data to the program. These two processes of timekeeping make accuracy—usually taken for granted—perceptible as something that requires ongoing compensation and upkeep.

《误差正在计时》中，一只数字时钟不断迟滞、跳秒，又尝试追赶。程序将机械钟表中的能量衰减、摩擦与误差累积转化为计算规则，使屏幕与声音随系统状态持续变化。旁边一只外露机芯的机械钟独立运行，并不向程序传输数据。真实机芯与计算模型形成两种不同的计时过程，让日常被视为理所当然的“准确”，显露为一个依赖持续补偿与维持的过程。