Comments on: Half an Hour http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour Distributed Action Research blog by Andy Roberts Fri, 25 May 2012 09:56:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: reinkefj http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour#comment-12026 reinkefj Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:50:38 +0000 http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour#comment-12026 >local time on the clock is more than just a number. Hmmm, interesting. So, it makes a difference if lunch is at "noon local" or "1700 GMT"? >actually influence behaviour and particularly social synchronicity. I'm hard pressed to see the "synch" impacted by what is essentially a labe. >For example, If the local time was effectively random But it's not "random"; it's a globe-wide universal constant. >what’s the best time to pull in for lunch? When you're hungry? :-) Seriously! Isn't it more likely that figuring out a plane or train connection from afar is complicated by the lack of a universal time constant. Just working in a two time zone company with Microsoft Outlook screwing up meetings for travelers, I keep coming back to the idea of GMT. Like that proverbially "stopped clock" being right twice a day. >the trains would run better without any rush hour I think you still have rush hour, or hours -- here in the NYC, but we would just assign another number to lable it. NYC 8 to 5 would be GMT13 to GMT20. Maybe Dolly Parton has to redo her hit song, but we'd all profit from the simplification. >if the clock strikes three it’s time for tea GMT15? > And England will always be the center of the world! :-) >local time on the clock is more than just a number.

Hmmm, interesting. So, it makes a difference if lunch is at “noon local” or “1700 GMT”?

>actually influence behaviour and particularly social synchronicity.

I’m hard pressed to see the “synch” impacted by what is essentially a labe.

>For example, If the local time was effectively random

But it’s not “random”; it’s a globe-wide universal constant.

>what’s the best time to pull in for lunch?

When you’re hungry?

:-)

Seriously! Isn’t it more likely that figuring out a plane or train connection from afar is complicated by the lack of a universal time constant.

Just working in a two time zone company with Microsoft Outlook screwing up meetings for travelers, I keep coming back to the idea of GMT. Like that proverbially “stopped clock” being right twice a day.

>the trains would run better without any rush hour

I think you still have rush hour, or hours — here in the NYC, but we would just assign another number to lable it. NYC 8 to 5 would be GMT13 to GMT20. Maybe Dolly Parton has to redo her hit song, but we’d all profit from the simplification.

>if the clock strikes three it’s time for tea

GMT15?

>

And England will always be the center of the world!

:-)

]]> By: Andy Roberts http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour#comment-11946 Andy Roberts Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:43:12 +0000 http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour#comment-11946 I thought about this and eventually decided that the local time on the clock is more than just a number. It has cultural significance which will actually influence behaviour and particularly social synchronicity. For example, If the local time was effectively random depending on where you are then it would be hard to know when travelling, what's the best time to pull in for lunch? So People would be less inclined to eat together, the trains would run better without any rush hour, and if the clock strikes three it's time for tea, but that could be in the middle of the night! I thought about this and eventually decided that the local time on the clock is more than just a number. It has cultural significance which will actually influence behaviour and particularly social synchronicity.

For example, If the local time was effectively random depending on where you are then it would be hard to know when travelling, what’s the best time to pull in for lunch?

So People would be less inclined to eat together, the trains would run better without any rush hour, and if the clock strikes three it’s time for tea, but that could be in the middle of the night!

]]> By: reinkefj http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour#comment-8885 reinkefj Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:52:59 +0000 http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour#comment-8885 It does sound like a "dumb idea". For the life of me, I never understood why people don't just set their clocks on GMT and organize their lives around whatever time they need. What's so sacred about working 9to5? Who cares if you go to bed at 11PM, 2300 local, 0r 0400+1? I know at my employer, GMT would save a lot of time zone confusion providing across the USA. When I was in the USAF many many decades ago, everything was ZULU this or ZULU that. Guess that's politically incorrect now? But, there was never any time zone confusion. When I returned to my civilian employer and tried to bring this insight to our datacenter operations, everyone poo pooed it. Every years I'd watch them struggle with Daylight Savings Time or a national time zone confusion. Sigh. Some memes are just too powerful to change. I guess? It does sound like a “dumb idea”. For the life of me, I never understood why people don’t just set their clocks on GMT and organize their lives around whatever time they need. What’s so sacred about working 9to5? Who cares if you go to bed at 11PM, 2300 local, 0r 0400+1? I know at my employer, GMT would save a lot of time zone confusion providing across the USA. When I was in the USAF many many decades ago, everything was ZULU this or ZULU that. Guess that’s politically incorrect now? But, there was never any time zone confusion. When I returned to my civilian employer and tried to bring this insight to our datacenter operations, everyone poo pooed it. Every years I’d watch them struggle with Daylight Savings Time or a national time zone confusion. Sigh. Some memes are just too powerful to change. I guess?

]]>