Depends what you mean by "telling the time" though. How many minutes you have left from 8:58 to 9:34? Analog watch is easier for that stuff. Also approximations

Depends what you mean by "telling the time" though. How many minutes you have left from 8:58 to 9:34? Analog watch is easier for that stuff. Also approximations - quick glance to see if the long hand is getting close to the hour, the quarter hour, noon, etc. No number parsing needed, it's just gestalt.