Centuries ago a guy named Ned lived in a small village and possessed an amazing gift. Ned was a time-teller.
Any time of the day, any day of the week, Ned could tell you what time it was just by looking into the sky. He knew the exact day, the exact hour, and the exact minute whenever it was asked of him.
Ned’s neighbors became aware of this amazing gift and sought him out whenever they needed to know what time it was. Doctor’s appointments, travel itineraries, cooking schedules, Zoom calls, whatever.
Soon the whole village came knocking on Ned’s door to find out what time it was, and visitors from other villages would line up to hear Ned’s up-to-the-minute pronouncements.
Ned’s life became a nightmare. He never had a moment’s rest because there was always someone wanting to know the time. His gift had turned into a curse!
Then Ned had an idea.
If he could devise a way for everyone to know what time it was, he could use his time-telling ability to teach people how to tell time for themselves. So that’s what he did.
For months Ned went into hiding, accepting no visitors and answering no requests. Months turned into years, but one day Ned emerged triumphant.
On a clear, sunny Sunday afternoon (at exactly 12:15 PM as Ned would tell it) he unveiled his invention. A round dial with notches along the edge and an upright triangle in the center. When placed on top of a pedestal, the sun would cast a shadow on the notches.
People crowded around the invention in awe as Ned taught them how to interpret the shadows on the notches and determine the time of day. It was crude but effective.
At the base of the pedestal Ned wrote, “If you tell a man what time it is, he will know what time it is for a moment. But if you a teach a man how to tell time, he will always know what time it is.” Which seemed like a really long marketing slogan, but it didn’t hurt sales and had nothing to do with fish.
Soon Ned’s invention spread far and wide and was placed at the center of every city in the land. Ned’s life went back to relative calm, as he enjoyed profit from the sales of his invention and worked on a device that could be worn on the wrist.
Years later when Ned was interviewed by an upstart magazine called TIME for a spotlight on inventions that changed history, he mused, “It’s fun to be a genius who’s smarter than everyone else, but that fun quickly fades. It’s better to be a person who empowers others.”
Wise words from a guy named Ned.
Photo by Patti Black on Unsplash
