Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-02-01
CAN YOU GUESS TIME?
THERE ARE FOLK WHO CAN 90 N
Almost TO THE MINUTE.

They Seem 10 Have d singular Abil-
ity For Measuring on the HOurs
Like a OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES PeopIe
Who Think Time stands StiIl.
Guessing the time of day Is an
amusement for some and almost a pro-
fession for others. The best guessers
are not those whose occupations re-
quire them to be most s%crnpulous In
the matter of time. Railway employ
ees. especially conductors and engi
neers, are so much men OF the minute
and the second and have so learned TO
trust to their watches that they do not
acquire the skill that many men have.
of guessing time by various natural in
dieations or by a sort OF mysterious
knack.
The laborer who does not carry a
watch can often guess within ten or
fifteen minutes of the time at any hour
Of his working day. 1t is not uncom
mon even In New York for a laborer
on the street to inquire the time of day
Of a passerby. but the query is o~ftenest
made near the noon hour, and the la
borer, il asked to guess. could probably
come very close TO the very minute In
Dictated by the length Of shadows. the
position Of the sun and the quantity
Of light falling into the street. Men
working underground or at night guess
the time much less closely than those
who work by daylight and in the open
air.
Many men 50 by the hunger clock
and can guess very close to the hour
for quitting work whether at noon or
toward the close Of the days work. In
shops where there are no clocks hun.
dreds or inquiries as to the time pass
from mouth to mouth as those hours
approach. The signal for quitting work
seldom comes as a surprise to the ordi
nary hand worker.
Brain workers and men whose trades
require delicate manipulation do not
guess time so accurately as unskilled
laborers, because they become so alb
sorbed In their work as TO be oblivious
to the flight Of time. a hardworking
business man or New York used to
keep an alarm clock ON his desk. which
went Off at the hour he should make
ready to catch q suburban train. The
alarm literally walked him up out of
thought. Sometimes. so TO speak, he
slept through the alarm and missed his
train. Without this reminder be would
oyerstay his time at the office an hour
or more.
Some men have a really uncanny
power of guessing time. They do it APP
parently without the aid of natural In
dications and by means Of some inward
monitor which goes on measuring OH
the hours like q chronometer. There
are men who can ordinarily guess the
time within ten minutes at any hour OF
their waking day. 1t Is suspected that
such men rarely become deeply absorb
ed In their work, though the faculty
often accompanies fine intellectual pow.
ers.
A much rarer power than that OF
guessing the time at a given hour OF
the day Is that Of guessing the elapsed
time in short periods. Hardly n man
In ten can come within FIVE minutes OF
guessing the elapsed time In periods Of
less than half an hour and more than
a quarter. and very few can tell with
In a minute when a period Of ten min
utcs has elapsed.
The most difficult feat in time guess
Ing Ii I o wake from a sound sleep In
| the small hours after having gone to
bed before midnight and guess within
half an hour OF the time. Most per-
| sons. unaided by natural indications.
such as moonlight, the first signs Of
dawn In midsummer or the profound
| quiet Of the house In winter. cannot
under these conditions guess within
two hours Of the time.
Persons ordinarily underestimate the
time they have slept at night and over
estimate the length Of a daylight nap.
The cat nap Of two or three minutes NJ.
pears TO most persons 10 have lasted
from fifteen minutes to half an hour.
In fact. some persons seem to got q
sleep all over and through and through
whenever they lose consciousness and
are thus utterly obiivious or the fight
Of time. while others seem never. even
at night. 10 be thoroughly saturated
with sleep. Persons Of the latter class
wake nj any moment Of the night IN nl.
most full possession of their faculties
and can usually form q pretty good
notion Of the hour.
Public speakers are prOrefbialiy hlf
guesscrs Of The elapsed time when thes
sneak extemaoraneouslx. c~Icgsynicit