# The Clock Converted Time Into a Reality Independent of Us by W. Daniel Hillis > “The clock is the embodiment of objectivity. It converted time from a personal experience into a reality independent of perception. It gave us a framework in which the laws of nature could be observed and quantified.” > **— W. Daniel Hillis**, *1999, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INVENTION IN THE PAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [physicist and computer scientist](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10999) — the official response page preserves this exact, continuous passage and its surrounding argument. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response object and all canonical reminder links derived from it. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Modern Artificial Intelligence in the 1970s|AI in the 1970s]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/Machine Intelligence from Cortical Networks and the Allen Institute|Cortical Networks]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Cybernetics|Cybernetics]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Cybernetics|Cybernetics]] - [[wiki/Self-Organization|Self-Organization]] - [[wiki/Collective Intelligence|Collective Intelligence]] - [[wiki/Cybernetic Control|Cybernetic Control]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The clock is the embodiment of objectivity. It converted time from a personal experience into a reality independent of perception. It gave us a framework in which the laws of nature could be observed and quantified.” — W. Daniel Hillis, 1999, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INVENTION IN THE PAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-daniel-hillis-clock-embodiment-objectivity ```