I've been considering for awhile how some things like GPS, and the internet's ability to synchronize clocks with UTC might be used to make smarter clocks. For example, if I drive into a new Time Zone, I'd like my clock to automatically know that.
Also, living in a more northern latitude makes for some long summer days, and short winter days.
It would be interesting to allow time to be more elastic to a circadian rhythm, such as having sunrise always be at 6am and sunset always be at 6pm with solar noon always at 12pm. Hours would then also be variable depending on the time of year, so the number of hours you worked per day in that month may vary depending on the season as well. I'm thinking rather than just longitude based time zones, then also have a grid of latitude zones (A,B,C,D,E...). I would be in like CST-C, the Canadians north of me would be in CST-B, and those in the Arctic circle would be in CST-A. Equatorial people would not need to have any lattitude adjustments.
In December I have about 9 hours of daylight for a fixed 12 hour day, while in June I have about 15 hours for a fixed 12 hour day. For example then, in December a pseudo hour is .75 of an hour, and in June it would be 1.25 hours.
The benefit being that you could set your alarm to awaken and drive to work (if you must) during daylight, and arrive home likewise during daylight. No need for daylight savings time anymore. Plus, industrial heating/cooling needs would be less in winter when energy is more scarce.
I'm not a huge fan of the industrial management -- 40 hours per work week -- widgets per hour stuff. But, I'm sure we could figure out how to accommodate the antiquated mindset too. The number of work hours per year might still add up to about 2000, however more would be in the summer and less would be in the winter. I'm not sure how it is for other folks, but the best time for me to want to get a tropical get away is in mid January to mid February when the thermometer gets and stays below -17C for six weeks.
While we are at it, maybe we might finally abandon the agricultural based scheduling of our school calendars. We need students and teachers in the classrooms, and not in the fields.
Also, living in a more northern latitude makes for some long summer days, and short winter days.
It would be interesting to allow time to be more elastic to a circadian rhythm, such as having sunrise always be at 6am and sunset always be at 6pm with solar noon always at 12pm. Hours would then also be variable depending on the time of year, so the number of hours you worked per day in that month may vary depending on the season as well. I'm thinking rather than just longitude based time zones, then also have a grid of latitude zones (A,B,C,D,E...). I would be in like CST-C, the Canadians north of me would be in CST-B, and those in the Arctic circle would be in CST-A. Equatorial people would not need to have any lattitude adjustments.
In December I have about 9 hours of daylight for a fixed 12 hour day, while in June I have about 15 hours for a fixed 12 hour day. For example then, in December a pseudo hour is .75 of an hour, and in June it would be 1.25 hours.
The benefit being that you could set your alarm to awaken and drive to work (if you must) during daylight, and arrive home likewise during daylight. No need for daylight savings time anymore. Plus, industrial heating/cooling needs would be less in winter when energy is more scarce.
I'm not a huge fan of the industrial management -- 40 hours per work week -- widgets per hour stuff. But, I'm sure we could figure out how to accommodate the antiquated mindset too. The number of work hours per year might still add up to about 2000, however more would be in the summer and less would be in the winter. I'm not sure how it is for other folks, but the best time for me to want to get a tropical get away is in mid January to mid February when the thermometer gets and stays below -17C for six weeks.
While we are at it, maybe we might finally abandon the agricultural based scheduling of our school calendars. We need students and teachers in the classrooms, and not in the fields.
”There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio.
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