The Twin Paradox

2023

DeepTime Collective (Amanda Evans + Tia Kramer)
Performance with two digital clocks



This performance uses two digital clocks to test the Twin Paradox. Over the course of one year, Tia Kramer and I traveled back and forth between Syracuse, NY and Walla Walla, WA. During our first visit to Syracuse, we bought two identical clocks and synced them to the exact millisecond. We selected one clock to travel with us on each trip, while the other clock remained in Syracuse for the entirety of the experiment. At the end of the year, we tested whether the clock that remained in Syracuse kept slightly slower time than the clock that traveled. The difference, if any, was imperceptible.

In initiating this experiment, we were aware that the inexpensive tools used for this poetic exercise were not precise enough to accurately illustrate the Twin Paradox. Nevertheless, we enjoyed carrying a giant digital clock with us through TSA.