4 ms·

> Leap seconds aren't inherent to timekeeping. Leap seconds are inherent to timekeeping based on the sun, which all civil time is. Without them, "midday" and "

> Leap seconds aren't inherent to timekeeping. Leap seconds are inherent to timekeeping based on the sun, which all civil time is. Without them, "midday" and "midnight" become undefined.

Dylan16807 4y ago
Civil time is based on time zones, and it will take thousands of years to have a meaningful drift in comparison to that. If we avoid the hubris of thinking that we know how clocks will be set hundreds of years in the future, then the error from lacking leap seconds is negligible. And it's not like allowing .9 seconds of drift is objectively correct either.
- LeoPanthera 4y ago
  The boundaries of time zones are defined with reference to a fixed line - the prime meridian. On the prime meridian, "midnight" is an important concept, marking the change of date. A second of drift is negligible, but a minute of drift pushes the boundaries of time zones sideways by 6086 feet at the equator.
  - Dylan16807 4y ago
    > On the prime meridian, "midnight" is an important concept, marking the change of date. But having the average solar midnight match that very specific spot is not important. > A second of drift is negligible, but a minute of drift pushes the boundaries of time zones sideways by 6086 feet at the equator. Which doesn't matter when they're 60x that size wide. Especially when countries will shift an entire time zone for fun. A minute of drift is also negligible for civil time, as long as everyone is in sync, and we can't really predict the timekeeping future beyond that first minute of drift.
naniwaduni 4y ago
Civil timekeeping accepts error vs solar time of up to half an hour as table stakes, and routinely raises that by an hour or more. Leap seconds account for half a minute over half a century. You can get a legislature to change your time zone faster than the problem leap seconds purport to solve can become relevant.

> Leap seconds aren't inherent to timekeeping. Leap seconds are inherent to timekeeping based on the sun, which all civil time is. Without them, "midday" and "midnight" become undefined.

Dylan16807 4y ago

Civil time is based on time zones, and it will take thousands of years to have a meaningful drift in comparison to that. If we avoid the hubris of thinking that we know how clocks will be set hundreds of years in the future, then the error from lacking leap seconds is negligible. And it's not like allowing .9 seconds of drift is objectively correct either.

LeoPanthera 4y ago
The boundaries of time zones are defined with reference to a fixed line - the prime meridian. On the prime meridian, "midnight" is an important concept, marking the change of date. A second of drift is negligible, but a minute of drift pushes the boundaries of time zones sideways by 6086 feet at the equator.
- Dylan16807 4y ago
  > On the prime meridian, "midnight" is an important concept, marking the change of date. But having the average solar midnight match that very specific spot is not important. > A second of drift is negligible, but a minute of drift pushes the boundaries of time zones sideways by 6086 feet at the equator. Which doesn't matter when they're 60x that size wide. Especially when countries will shift an entire time zone for fun. A minute of drift is also negligible for civil time, as long as everyone is in sync, and we can't really predict the timekeeping future beyond that first minute of drift.

naniwaduni 4y ago

Civil timekeeping accepts error vs solar time of up to half an hour as table stakes, and routinely raises that by an hour or more. Leap seconds account for half a minute over half a century. You can get a legislature to change your time zone faster than the problem leap seconds purport to solve can become relevant.