How the hands move
Each clock runs one 24-hour circuit. 0% starts at 12:00 AM; 100% returns to midnight with the ring complete. Time = index × 24 hours, so 60% reads 2:24 PM.
Stages: 10% proposed route · 25% lab or computational evidence · 40% prototype or early trial · 60% human or field demonstration · 75% limited real-world use · 90% endpoint nearly met · 100% endpoint met. The stages are not equal amounts of remaining work.
What does not move a hand
A new paper alone. Hype. The passing of time. A verified milestone must change the evidence stage or satisfy the stated endpoint. Hands can move backward after retractions, failed replication or a clarified goal.
Broad phrases get narrow, visible working definitions ("What midnight means"). The original wording is never changed.
Honest freshness
Every morning the least recently checked futures are researched again, so each one is re-checked about once a week. A hand moves at most one stage per review, only with a source. Verification dates change only after an evidence check. A quiet news day leaves the hand still.
Predictions marked NEW are related ambitions added after the original list and scored with the same rubric. The percentage is an editorial milestone index, not a scientific measurement, probability or forecast.