
Why and how to transition to a better date format - gobbert
https://gist.github.com/RobertWarrenGilmore/32da7da00cfa676cffe1
======
Tomte
That must be satire.

Either that or it's the best demonstration of why techies often totally miss
the point when talkng about social issues.

Not knowing enough, but believing they know everything best.

~~~
gobbert
The last section is meant to be ironic. The rest isn't. I'd be curious to hear
what I've missed. I've addressed every concern that I've ever heard on this
topic, and it is a favourite topic of mine.

~~~
brudgers
Time is a favorite topic of mine too. It began when I read Kant and his
conclusion that ~time is an _a priori_ condition of all inner experience [i.e.
that time is something that the human mind projects out into the world]. Buy
into that as the strong scientific claim that there is no independent process
of time independent of our experience of it or not...there's no denying that
our systems for measuring and expressing time are artifacts of human culture
and that scientific definitions are _ex post facto._

The idea that noon is not when the sun is on the meridian and a mere footstep
east or west changes time by an hour with all the force of the state's
instruments of violence [1] is a mark of tyrannical authority. The Gregorian
Calendar is a product of a system in which people act upon a belief in a
divine mandate for their authority.

Which brings me to the objection that was not addressed. I don't want to cede
my freedom to a theocracy even dressed in technocratic robes. My time isn't
yours to decide.

[1]: aka, don't be late for court 'cause the judge will throw your ass in
jail.

~~~
gobbert
That seems pretty far removed from any kind of practical concern. The
intention is not to rule over people's lives or something. The intention is to
make it easier to schedule stuff.

I think you might just have a problem with the concept of timekeeping, and not
with this particular system.

I will concede, though, that the hypothetical situation of being late for a
court date is plausible near a time zone boundary. More reason to eliminate
time zones, right? The time is the same everywhere, so nobody is going to make
a mistake due to a time zone discrepancy.

