When I was a child, the pendulum swung even slower. It was longer then, too. To me, this speedup of an icon of slowness is symbolically fitting. The tempo of life has quickened. But it is not just the slowness that attracts the crowd, it is the promise of order.
Temporal disorientation is an unwanted side effect of modern life.
We are dazzled by progress, rushed by events, and disconnected from the stable rhythms of time. Anyone who has survived a long power blackout or a camping trip knows that the proverbial difference between night and day is much more dramatic without electric lights. In true darkness, the stars become important. In a world without flashlights, the lunar month governs what can be seen and hidden. A full moon allowed our ancestors to work all night to bring in the harvest.