Show HN: Time Flies
time-flies.koenvangilst.nlA visualization of the passage of time using flies. Written in JavaScript with some HTML & CSS in one index.html.
A visualization of the passage of time using flies. Written in JavaScript with some HTML & CSS in one index.html.
Reminds me of the falling-blocks one, where IIRC he made the blocks 'spontaneously' create the necessary time by starting with them in the right order and then simply displaying it in reverse, due to the temporal reversibility of physics. So it simply looked 100% correct as somehow the blocks magically all bounced exactly right so as to turn into the time. If you did it 'forward', you'd be baffled, but it becomes trivial if you think like a Heptapod. :)
One could probably do the same trick here: start with the flies in the clock shape, then diffuse them, then display it in reverse. And stitch together each sequence by a bit of biased sampling to move each fly to its nearest counterpart in the next sequence? Then the flies magically assemble themselves into the time without ever moving unnaturally. "How do they know how to coordinate?! I just don't understand!" (Also a good analogy to AI diffusion models...?)
The term "Tempus Fugis" is Latin for time flies, and is commonly seen on clock faces.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempus_fugit
Aeternitas manet!
fugit means literally "runs away/escapes" (useless trivia: it's just like in Bach's fugues which has to do with their structure).
I'm not trying to be pedantic here -- for some time I've been wondering how one would say (in classical latin) "time flies" as "the flies of time".
Can anyone with the knowledge of classical Latin help me feed that brain worm?
Is it Muscae temporis?
Can I use that phrase instead of tempus fugit? Like a friend named Mori, who used to finish all of his posts with "Memento Mori - remember Mori"
Refugees is the same stem.
I did not expect fugues and refugees to be etymologically related. You learn something new every day, I guess. Even if it's something you'd prefer you didn't know, like that apparently six-month-old eggs don't smell weird enough to get noticed...if they're in a closed drawer at least. (Yes, that happened a while ago. It lasted through a reorganization of the fridge, too! Fun...)
Fugitive, centrifuge...
Muscae temporis is fine, and funny in its way :)
> Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
- Groucho Marx
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_flies_like_an_arrow%3B_...
Makes sense!
I never really gave it much thought. Just a fun word game.
Miles Davis, 1953: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HJEfofdhwpc
And then there is my uncle, quoted as saying, "Tempus can go fug itself."
Another nice stoic-inspired visualisation of a life clock:
https://lifeslay.vercel.app/
Fun visualization.
First thought that this would be https://timeflies.buzz/ a fun game I played at pax this year, though I'm a little worried I played the whole thing.
Nice.
<Spoiler> I would expect the phone shake to cause the flies to dispatch tho. <Spoiler/>
Nice feature request.
This is the kind of idea that definitely started with the pun and then was worked backwards from there. Pretty funny.
Tip: you can click on the canvas to "disturb" the flies
Very nice, simple and elegant. Would make a nice screensaver with a bit more movement.
Just add seconds for constant movement.
Adding a few more flies would make it even better. Hey the code is on GitHub, so we're all free to create our variations ;-)
Hilarious. Really wish I’d thought of this. Nicely executed.
True XD
I love this! I wouldn't be surprised if this is the result of the author getting nerd-sniped somehow :-)
Initially I thought it's one of those optical illusions where you start seeing something in seemingly random buzz, just dynamically generated.
But do they like an arrow?
Time Flies is something I would expect in Doctor Who.
Imagine lit-up drones doing a countdown like this before New Year’s Eve!
Not at all similar to the one in this "Show HN" post but related:
London 2023 countdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FcDNi1HkfI&t=49s
London 2024 countdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2wBcCIlMGw&t=50s
Guaranteed to have been done in Asia already, an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIs8t3ro9Fw
That's super cool!
Now, I should port this to my smartwatch. Great.
This app reminds me of the marx brothers quote, “Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.”
Referred to as a garden path sentence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden-path_sentence
Clearly the time flies should follow the mouse cursor.
They should change their behaviour as the pointer changes shape as you hover through various items on the screen
Is the dancing banana cursor still around?
"Time flies like an arrow, mouse cursor flies like a cursor"?
Having had friends who wrangled D. melanogaster, it reminds me of the smell of ether and yeast.
[flagged]
Could be a good test for future GPT intelligence but probably not hard