"Ron Anthony" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> If I gave you a nice looking but somewhat erraticatic watch (the dial), and
> said, "It works good but its 10 minutes fast". You would have no problem
> making the mental calculation to get the correct time.
I think you're right that native English speakers would readily
understand a table labeled "dail fast/slow". Non-native speakers might
have more trouble. In German, zum Beispiel, a clock is not said to be
fast ("schnell"), but rather to run ahead ("geht vor"). Technically,
the dial is not running faster than a mechanical clock in November and
December, but slower. That is why the amount the sundial is ahead of
the clock is decreasing. I agree that the EoT on a sundial should give
the correction needed to convert sundial time to clock time, and that
it should avoid relying on any plus/minus conventions, but I would
suggest saying "dial ahead/behind" rather than "dial fast/slow".
--Art Carlson
