Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day.
This is an English proverb that literally means that even a clock that isn’t working will show the right time at least twice in a day, when it completes the 12 hours cycle and comes to the time where it has stopped once in the am and the other during pm.
Metaphorically, the clock here symbolizes people, the unreliable kind of people who can incidentally or mistakenly be right sometimes and cannot be completely taken to be untrustworthy. They can either be intentionally or unintentionally right – depends on whether we are cautious enough to look through what they have to say and differentiate between if they could be right or not.
There are various ways to put forth your views on this proverb, either with examples or with more metaphors. While some would agree that even unreliable people could be right sometimes and should be given a chance others would object that trusting on chance is foolish.
For:1. By chance: Ever faced a questionnaire with multiple choice answers? You could be completely naïve to the content of the questions and yet if answering wrong isn’t costing you negative marking just like the good old high school exams, you would definitely try and attempt the answers. And if luck has it, you get at least two or more of them correct, after all there were multiple choices and one of them were bound to be correct. Taking a chance can work wonders sometimes.
2. Prediction industry: If you have ever played a lottery you would know that the industry solely thrives and flourishes on the fact that people are willing to try their luck even when they know that the chances are as rare as finding a needle in a sack of hay. The finance and share bazaar predictors have their job dependent on predictions. They do go wrong sometimes but they do not stop because they know that they will be right the next time or the next of that.
3. Idiocy is not all dumb: Even naïve and unsuccessful people who you believe can do nothing in life are sometimes capable of giving you life lessons or advices that are actually pretty great if you can take them and put to action. All great inventors and pioneers were once thought to be worthless people with vague ideologies but they achieved and proved to the world that what we see on the outside can sometimes contain great knowledge and wisdom.
4. Retards also have a shining moment: An introvert who stays away from people’s eyes and does not get noticed ever is usually expected to be not worthy of getting appreciated. They do what they are told without whining or questioning but then one day they contribute an idea that is absolutely brilliant and everyone notices the retard’s hidden talent. The next day he could be back to the old shy self. That doesn’t make him a retard at all. He is a working clock that only rings alarm twice a day.
5. Being right at the right time is all that matters: Your ideas and theories, your vast expanse of knowledge and credentials are all worthless if you cannot act right at the right moment. Most people say that they get nervous when faced with limelight and stammer even when they know the right thing to say or do. Making the right decision at the right is what makes people appreciable even if they are not a genius at theories. If you are right at the ripe time, you get the credits else it is all a waste.
Against:1. Dealing in chance doesn’t work always: So someone predicted that the year would be full of good news for you and it did happen. What does it make the predictor? An astrologer who can see the future? Or someone who should rather be employed at weather department to predict when it would rain and if there will be an earthquake? No? Exactly! He just babbled a few words and by sheer coincidence they turn out to be true. You cannot start blindly following that person or you are doomed into superstition for the rest of your life.
2. Unreliable and doubted: If you bear a history of being unreliable even if it is a misconception, you will be doubted for the sake of people’s own safety and avoiding resentment later. If you break someone trust once or cheat them, it is only human nature that will subconsciously doubt your instincts later even though you mean well. Once bitten twice shy is actually valid, even if you don’t intend to bite for the second time you have lost that trust.
3. Can you trust a broken clock? Literally speaking, if a clock stopped at 5 in the morning, you cannot use it to predict the time at 5 in the evening, can you? You can’t. If it is broken it is useless. Similarly, if trust is broken it cannot be expected to mend on its own. Unless you work and earn the trust back, you cannot expect to get in the good books of someone you once deceived. Mend the clock and only then can it be right for anyone.
4. Perseverance: An unreliable person cannot be trusted again unless he is persistent on building back the trust. He could be right if in a while and mean well for you but do not want to take that kind of risk where there could be getting yourself hurt if you happen to be wrong again. However, if the person shows perseverance and proves his trustworthiness, you can by all means take him back in your life, at your own risk of course.
5. Instruments of success: If you have to reach a destination on short notice, you wouldn’t take that bike which breaks down, say once a week or month, would you? Being sure is a good quality. We do take risks and chances when there are no other options left. But why would you risk missing a flight by taking a vehicle to the airport that has a reputation for breaking down when you could easily take a cab all the way to your destination?
Both people and instruments are trusted only when they have proved their efficacy and reliance. Trust builds over time. Giving a chance to new people is like trusting a clock that has long stopped but can be right at the right time. Take risks when the consequences can be controlled but stay cautious when you know that anything going wrong can be disastrous.
