[kstrauser]

It seems like it would be the opposite:

- If you are smack dab in the middle of the Earth, although you'd be mashed, gravitational forces should be equal in all directions and therefore cancel out to zero.

- Ergo, if you are on the surface of the Earth, gravity should make your clocks run slower than in the middle.

What am I missing that makes this untrue?

[blix]

The gravitational forces at the center do cancel out, but the important term for this effect is not the sum of forces but the gravitational potential, essentially the energy gained/lost by moving from deep space to the given location.

Force is the derivative of this potential, so the abscence of forces in the center indicates an extremum.

[ajkjk]

It's not the gravitational force that determines the relative passage of the time but the gravitational potential, which can be much higher despite not experiencing any force.

[kstrauser]

Oh, interesting. Thanks for the clarification!