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One clock may be an easily changeable thing, but is it really that much easier than changing one sign? Besides, if you knew you'd be changing your opening time

One clock may be an easily changeable thing, but is it really that much easier than changing one sign? Besides, if you knew you'd be changing your opening times throughout the year, then when you ordered a sign you'd just order both signs at the same time, or maybe get a sign with replaceable numbers, or a sign with washable/writeable numbers for your opening times. Or you could just not bother, and pick a time that was "good enough" all year round. Why would you need to change an appointment? You'd just make it for the time you wanted on the day you intended to start with. But changing all the clocks, in a whole country (or on a whole continent), on the same day? You think that's easy? You've never got that wrong, or known anyone who got that wrong?

benj111 3y ago
Have a look round at how many social distancing signs there still are. Signs don't get updated, so is that 8am opening the actual opening time or have they not updated the sign? And if you make an appointment for 8am at the other side of a (not) time change. Does that appointment change, or do you need to attend an hour earlier or later?
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dale_glass 3y ago
> One clock may be an easily changeable thing, but is it really that much easier than changing one sign? Mechanical clocks are imprecise and so need periodic adjustment. If you need good timing, then adjusting your clock periodically would be already baked in. Adjusting it differently would be essentially free. Communicating that you've changed your schedule though, that's a lot more work. Phones are a new tech not everyone has. Telegrams and letters cost money and labor. Plus there's an issue of synchronization. Imagine a whole bunch of people changing their schedules at different times. The barber changes schedule one day, the bakery the next, and the post office decides to wait until next Monday. It'd be pretty rough. > But changing all the clocks, in a whole country (or on a whole continent), on the same day? You think that's easy? You've never got that wrong, or known anyone who got that wrong? It's far easier and more reliable for a government to make a big announcement (radio, newspapers) and make a single, global change than for a lot of people to communicate with everyone else. In modern times this is a lot more practical, but communication used to be a lot harder.
lazide 3y ago
Cascading scheduling is really hard, especially when some of the things won’t need to change and others will. Which is inevitable. It can take months for things to stabilize again.

benj111 3y ago

Have a look round at how many social distancing signs there still are. Signs don't get updated, so is that 8am opening the actual opening time or have they not updated the sign? And if you make an appointment for 8am at the other side of a (not) time change. Does that appointment change, or do you need to attend an hour earlier or later?

deleted 3y ago
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dale_glass 3y ago

> One clock may be an easily changeable thing, but is it really that much easier than changing one sign? Mechanical clocks are imprecise and so need periodic adjustment. If you need good timing, then adjusting your clock periodically would be already baked in. Adjusting it differently would be essentially free. Communicating that you've changed your schedule though, that's a lot more work. Phones are a new tech not everyone has. Telegrams and letters cost money and labor. Plus there's an issue of synchronization. Imagine a whole bunch of people changing their schedules at different times. The barber changes schedule one day, the bakery the next, and the post office decides to wait until next Monday. It'd be pretty rough. > But changing all the clocks, in a whole country (or on a whole continent), on the same day? You think that's easy? You've never got that wrong, or known anyone who got that wrong? It's far easier and more reliable for a government to make a big announcement (radio, newspapers) and make a single, global change than for a lot of people to communicate with everyone else. In modern times this is a lot more practical, but communication used to be a lot harder.

lazide 3y ago

Cascading scheduling is really hard, especially when some of the things won’t need to change and others will. Which is inevitable. It can take months for things to stabilize again.