Exemplary Assignment 5
responses
February 26, 2009
Assingment: Due 5pm on Weds. February, 25th. Submit via
bSpace.
Thompson
talks about the spread of the clock, the pocket
watch, and timekeeping; Edwards about the spread of account books and
double-entry bookkeeping. The historian Alfred Crosby, in his book The
Measure of Reality, says of bookkeeping that it has "done more to shape
the perceptions of more bright minds than any single innovation in
philosophy or science." To
which of the two developments under
discussion--timekeeping or double-entry bookkeeping--do you think
Crosby's claim is better applied? Please write a response of about 200
words and give some evidence from the readings to support your claim.
This statement applies better to TIMEKEEPING:
Crosby’s claim that bookkeeping has "done more to shape the perceptions
of more bright minds than any single innovation in philosophy or
science” is best applied to time keeping as chronicled by Thompson.
Thompson’s account marks the difference between task-oriented labor
that characterized “post-industrial” times and industrial labor
dependent on machines. I appreciate how Thompson strayed from
technological determinism. He views time and machine-aided labor as
symbiotic rather than decisive factors. The increased popularity of
pocket watches and grandfather clocks did not lead to the industrial
revolution but simply fit in well with machine-oriented labor. (The
fact that such watches were markers of economic status is funny because
they also helped bosses extract more labor in a workday, thereby making
more money) This new mental model had many effects besides “shaping
bright minds” – it led to preaching and schoolings against idleness,
the saying “time is money”, and new labor habits idolizing the
usefulness of individuals. I disagree that time keeping necessarily led
to “bright minds”, but I do think our perceptions and daily lives are
shaped tremendously by the idea of time. - SARAH
I delved into these two articles under the assumption I'd answer the
given question with a compromised both time and bookkeeping altered
minds for varied reasons. However, once I read the articles by
Edwards on bookkeeping, my position changed as I did not see the
expected profound cognitive changes. I can easily see how the
change to modern documentation and bookkeeping alters perceptions of
validity, legality, and responsibility, but not with the article by
Edwards. Before 1000 AD, he shows socities as still having a
fairly complex bookkeeping system, as if dispelling the "determinism"
of accounting. After 1000 AD things change, but not because of
double-entry bookkeeping. Bookkeeping has to keep up with the
towns. It is an effect, not a cause, of daily perceptions.
Thompson, however, makes the case throughout his article of the
changing perceptions of the day. Manufacturers fight the laborers
for their strong ties to idle Saint Mondays. There is mindful
opposition to this forced change in the laborers way of life. It
was a top-down change, not an effect of laborers naturally adopting new
ways of working. - DANA
The economics of time, the allocation of time between labor, family and
leisure, I believe has done more to shape the perceptions of bright
minds that Crosby refers to. In that, “this measurements embodies a
simple relationship. Time is now currency”. Men want control of their
“own” time. This idea in our capitalistic society changes attitudes and
large numbers of people are now motivated to gain this control. As a
result, inspired entrepreneurs emerge, producing innovation and
businesses. This industry alters perceptions of the mass society.
Societies attitudes and goals are deeply structured by time; it’s
equated with pleasure and money. Further, being able to afford a device
(differing by metal and design) to keep track of time becomes a symbol
of status. On a larger level, the economics of time becomes a
representation and forms an identity. The development of timekeeping is
associated with the consumer society, which depends on income and
leisure time – better living standards. Instead of being instruments of
time clocks become symbolic of capitalism. Of course bookkeeping is
equally important, for its developments in recording, education and
literature. However, shaping perceptions of more bright minds is
credited to the framework of time. - JOOYOUN
I believe that timekeeping has played a larger role in developing our
society than has double-entry bookkeeping. For one thing, the use
of bookkeeping falls solely in economic or business-related purposes,
where, as Thompson points out, the watch is (and has always been) a
social status symbol as well as serving its practical purposes.
Furthermore, since 1700, the timepiece has been used to standardize the
work day for laborers; prior to its inception, laborers are described
as working in bursts of productivity interspersed with random bouts of
no work being done. The standardization of the work day/week has
had a much greater impact on the common worker than the use of any form
of bookkeeping (though, obviously, a certain level of recordkeeping
must have been obtained in order for timekeeping to be of any
use). Furthermore, where double-entry bookkeeping is merely a
logical progression from simpler forms of standardized bookkeeping, the
timepiece was a radical standardization of a typically subjective
concept (as seen in Thompson's listing of archaic, arbitrary
measurements of time). While we could take a step back in our use
of bookkeeping and still maintain a coherent, albeit less efficient,
model of business, reverting from the use of hours and minutes and
seconds to a "pissing while" or a "time in which the maize is not
completely roasted" would be disastrously confusing and untenable. -
STEVEN
Crosby's claims is better applied to timekeeping than bookkeeping
because people were having difficulty to determine the time before a
clock was invented, and their life habit, including working and
studying, also changed after the clock was discovered. In the past, the
concept of wind was the notation of time; people used this idea to
figure out the time, and they often got lost of time when they could
not keep track of the wind (59). When the first clocks appeared in
British’s market around sixteenth century, although those clocks were
not really accurate, a lot of English perishes bought them (63). When
the clock was improved to be more and more accurate, people started to
depend on the time. Workers were assigned to perform which duties at
each time (82), and students were regulated to come to class in a
specific time manner. So, timekeeping alters people's life habit as
well as their mind. Bookkeeping, on the other hand, was well known as
recordkeeping since the early period in Babylonia and Assyria. Also,
bookkeeping used to reach a high degree of perfection under the Roman
Republic as Edwards claims (450), and before it was spread into Great
Britain, bookkeeping was already used widely in Venice and led Venice's
trade to become more successful than Great Britain's commerce in the
nineteenth century (451). Therefore, bookkeeping is not as new to
people as timekeeping, and it does not alter people's life as much as
timekeeping does. - VISAL
Crosby’s claim that bookkeeping is the “single innovation” that has
changed the world is not applicable to the development of double-entry
bookkeeping. Although double-entry bookkeeping certainly created the
job of the accountant, the existence of an accountant did not in any
way greatly impact society. Jobs come and go throughout the centuries,
and to attribute a life-changing role to any single job is
foolish. On the other hand, the advent of ‘time-thrift’ in
Thompson’s article brings a clear sense of change. The idea that ‘time
is money’, so essential to the advent of industrial capitalism, was
dependent on the widespread use timekeeping device. Seasonal,
agriculture societies with elastic schedules are seen as
‘undisciplined’ and even primitive. We live in an age where the
adage of ‘idleness as a sin’ holds true, especially at a high-stress
institution as Berkeley. Procrastination has its own pitfalls.
Moreover, Thompson states that “For there is no such thing as economic
growth which is not, at the same time, growth or change of a culture”
(pg. 97). There is a definite shift in worldview caused by diligent
timekeeping and being paid by the hour instead of by the piece. Thus,
Thompson’s article applies to Crosby’s statement. - Diane
Crosby’s claim is more clearly applied to timekeeping, which entailed a
more fundamental shift in the perceptions of “bright minds” than did
bookkeeping. As Edwards describes bookkeeping, its effects are more
apparent in society at large than in individuals. The cognitive
developments associated with bookkeeping, such as the notion of private
property, actually precede the practice, necessitating its creation.
Thompson’s account presents starkly contrasting pictures of work before
and after timekeeping became prominent. Work was originally highly
integrated with a daily routine and varying greatly in intensity, and
later became strictly separated from leisure time, and was equated with
productive output and capital. The valuation of time was also moral,
with dedication to duty revered and ill use of time seen as a sin.
These changes can not be attributed solely to the rise of the
timepiece, which should be seen as one of many elements in society that
contribute to the transition to industrial capitalism and interact to
produce attitude shifts. Bookkeeping can also be seen as an important
element of this transition, changing to reflect the increasing
complication of business practices. Though the relationship between
changes in perceptions and timekeeping is not a simple cause-effect
relation, timekeeping was a greater agent of change than bookkeeping,
which mirrored rather than entailed societal changes. - JESSICA
Timekeeping, rather than double-entry bookkeeping, did more "to shape
the perceptions" of bright minds. Double-entry bookkeeping definitely
changed how economic perceptions and concepts. But Edwards' article
debates little impact in other areas. Land mark developments such as
better regulated money lending, accounting, or double joint stocks
undeniably changed how empires and trade developed. However,
timekeeping not only drastically changed how the economy and industry
was run but also perception of time in relation to life for people.
Timekeeping paved the way for the Industrial Revolution because the
mechanization of this new industry style required the traits of
impersonality, specificity, punctuality, interdependence, and
discipline; all of which timekeeping provided. Industrialization needed
and perpetuated timekeeping. These traits were thus internalized by the
people themselves. Because timekeeping devices were a luxury, only
available to the rich, they were instruments of control and suppression
for workers. Thus, since the working class' economic livelihood was
dictated by time, naturally, all other areas of life became dictated by
time. This drastically shapes the perceptions of minds, which were
previously accustomed to following the natural rhythm, which was more
task-based rather than time-based. An action's or event's efficiency
and time utility became prioritized and valued. - LILY
Crosby's claim that bookkeeping has "done more to shape the perceptions
of more bright minds than any single innovation in philosophy or
science" applies better to timekeeping. Bookkeeping ushered the age of
professionalism, but while double-entry bookkeeping’s utility shaped
economic society, its rigor limited its widespread transformative value
in individuals. In Milan studying accounting required "familiarity with
economics, commerce, public affairs, complete knowledge of Latin and
arithmetic, a five-year apprenticeship... the age of twenty-five years,
and an examination in ... accounting.” Because Europe's task- to
wage-based transformation created the familiar Western "time is money"
metaphor, the new sense of timekeeping affected everyone. The
Enlightenment era’s three major intellectual communities—the
Rationalists, the religious, and the Romantics—as a central part of
their philosophies, either protested society’s rigorous timekeeping or
celebrated its potential utility. Protestants adapted “time is money”
into “wasted time is the wage of sin”—seen in Baxter's assertion that
our time should be devoted to saving our souls and Heywood’s: "sleep
now, and awake in hell.” Wordsworth's The Preludes embodied the
Romantics’ lament at time’s standardization "confining" life. Finally,
Rationalists Franklin and Weber saw time as key to the new "capitalist
ethic." And today, in competing with the West, task-oriented developing
countries transform their own senses of time, and in effect, their
cultures and their minds. - WILLIAM
This statement applies better to
BOOKKEEPING:
Crosby's claim that an event (in this case the choice being between
timekeeping and double-entry bookkeeping) has “done more to shape the
perceptions of more bright minds than any single innovation in
philosophy or science” is best applied to double-entry bookkeeping.
Though timekeeping may initially hit our ear as a more powerful entity
(the world “runs” on clocks) than accounting, which is viewed as
innocuous and boring, this is worth examining closer. In terms of the
theoretical understandings at work in each, bookkeeping can be seen as
a much larger, much complex entity that evolved out of the same thought
that produced timekeeping. In other words, bookkeeping can be seen as
an evolution of timekeeping, as its practice can be expanded to
encompass timekeeping – keeping tally of units of time – but
timekeeping may not be similarly expanded to include bookkeeping.
Timekeeping offers no way to understand or enable the key tenants of
accounting “...analyzing, classifying, and recording transactions,
according to a preconceived plan...summarization and a control
function...” (447). If timekeeping is said to underpin and enable our
society, as well as be ubiquitous, it must also be admitted that
bookkeeping is as well. Though less in the public eye, it is equally as
ubiquitous and necessary; every institution and even household relies
on, and interacts with, this system of bookkeeping. Since we are
discussing shaping minds the huge groups, organization, social entities
and culture that have developed around accounting (and by comparison
almost not at all around timekeeping) must also be mentioned. - Andrew
Blum
After reading both works, I believe Alfred Crosby's remark applies to
bookkeeping beautifully. In his article, James Don Edwards writes about
the three “main phases” of the development of bookkeeping. The first
stage, record keeping, albeit simply the practice of “inscribing and
preserving documents as evidence”, involved much intellectual Edwards
notes that early Egyptian scribes had refined skills of “reading,
writing, arithmetic” and other technical skills. Clearly bookkeeping in
its early stages was an art for the educated, and must have stimulated
countless people and “shaped the perceptions” of many minds. Edwards
notes on several occasions that the widespread prevalence of the need
for accounting spurred its development and helped it spread, from
the first large “accounts” to the documentation of world-wide
trade routes. Who then can refute the notion that the development of
bookkeeping influenced large numbers of people? During its greatest
periods of development, it was the driving force behind the world
economy driven by intellectual, educated “scribes” working to improve
their trade. Man has always been aware of passage of time, but the
development of bookkeeping was an endeavor which made people work (and
think!), affecting their perspective. - MARK
Crosby’s claim can better be applied to the development of double-entry
bookkeeping than the development of timekeeping. The developing
accounting practices were a strong influencing force throughout its
evolution from recordkeeping to bookkeeping as we know of it today.
Recordkeeping started out as a simple “practice of inscribing and
preserving documents as evidence.” As the “number and complexity of
property transactions and the creation of monetary systems increased,”
the accounting system adapted and began to influence how businesses
operated. Double-entry bookkeeping required accuracy through its
recording of “equal and opposite” transactions, a characteristic that
led to the development of internal controls and third-party reporting.
Concepts of bias and standardization also become established due to
concerns over accuracy in the presentation of information from
bookkeeping; concepts that have continued to influence different realms
of science and education. Thompson’s article, on the other hand,
presents the development of timekeeping as more of a passive reaction
to social forces. However developed the technology, “recorded time
belonged in the mid-century still to the gentry … and were in
deliberate accentuation of their symbolism of status.” Clocks and
watches were kept to demonstrate wealth instead of keeping time as we
understand today and it did less to shape perceptions of bright minds
as it did to function as a tool during industrial developments. -
FRANCES
Time is an essential concept that our world revolves around. It is
ingrained into our bodies; even plants have some sort of clock.
Furthermore, time keeping, as a concept, is difficult to define. Where
does it really start? Does the differentiation between day and night
qualify as time keeping? What about, as Thompson mentions, time to cook
something, time it took to sing a song? Thompson seems to define time
keeping as using clocks/watches to define the specific time of day.
However, as Thompson mentions, time keeping and the discipline that
goes with it is mostly important in mostly industrial areas.
Personally, I know that in countries like India, time and the
discipline that goes with it is not that important. Contracts tend to
be goal oriented and time is not such an important concept.
Bookkeeping, however, seems much more important. With private property
and the increased business, there was a need to write stuff down. As
money became the main means of transaction, this need was increased. As
businesses expanded there is a clear need for bookkeeping. Bookkeeping
dates back to Babylonian Crosby even claims that this was the among
first jobs of "government." Bookkeeping allows for the increase in
commerce and the growth of trade. It may be cynical, but I believe that
almost everything that happens is because someone is trying to profit
from it. With bookkeeping, came business and this business is what
drives the world. So, it seems that bookkeeping has had more influence
history than time keeping. - PRANEETH
Since “bright minds” seem to be the key words, I agree with Alfred
Crosby that bookkeeping has shaped the “perceptions of more bright
minds” than anything else, especially the “invention” of timekeeping.
When Thompson talks about the invention and spread of clock, it never
really affected “bright minds” in a way that made them think
differently. Time was just used to keep on schedule, and to trick
workers into taking longer shifts. Bookkeeping was part of the
evolution of writing as a means to write down memories. In this case,
it is memories of transactions and records. Intelligent people (“bright
people”) were the only ones deemed good enough to be the keepers of
records. Also with the advent of bookkeeping, people were now made
aware and accountable for their loans and debts. Smart people could
take advantage of this and either not get themselves in debt, or to
prove that other people owe them. This truly changed the mindset of
people especially in modern America where the thought of getting sued
forces people to make a protective paper trail of records of finances
and documentation. - ANDREW Sy
Thompson aimed to explore the influence of time and timekeeping on
modern civilization in his text. Noone would consider his choice to
attribute the entire development of capitalism to timekeeping an easy
task. However, looking critically at the changes between the considered
industrial and developing worlds, one fundamental difference stems from
our understanding of commitment and our choices in forms of
communicative obligations to our peers. Timekeeping and bookkeeping
provides the modern 'timed' man with a formal structure for managing
his communication and his responsibility. Understanding the
Thompson text further, it becomes obvious the act of timekeeping led to
the bookkeeping developments in formal civilization and capitalist
societies. While more task-oriented societies focused on leisure and
Monday pleasures, as opposed to squeezing capital from labor - formally
known as men. Thus, yes, Crosby is correct when he explains that
bookkeeping shaped the perceptions of men leading to innovations in
philosophy and science. Innovation, not in the sense of something
better, yet, innovation in a new strategic way of man-information
manipulation to progress society into an industrial, humanless society.
- ARIELLE