Time Zones are outdated, why don't we all switch over to 1 time standard

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
All timekeeping is a convention and for humans it's been about day and night for thousands of years the sin comes up in the am and sets in the pm and polar regions obviously would be exceptions. Why pointlessly require a new system?

I think you meant to put pm there! :biggrin:
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
I listed the advantages in the first post. It has mostly to do with eliminating the confusion of what time a meeting is. If I have to call in to the NYC office at 8 AM and I am in Tokyo, there is no conversion.

Agreed. You're going to have to ask what times they work anyways. Just eliminate the time zones so you don't have to do any conversion on either side. When the hours overlap, then those are your hours when you can schedule a meeting.

Similarly, if you're flying across time zones, its easy to determine the time of flight and layovers and what time of arrival.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
I don't understand what the point of time zones are.
Obviously
Lets say we all use GMT...
...This would make it easier for people who travel and do business across the country and internationally.

No it wouldn't. Time zones are what makes everything easier. Time zones exist naturally thanks to the rotation of earth. When someone says it's noon, that tells you what part of the day it is.... because of time zones. Without time zones it would be absolute nonsense.
 

who?

Platinum Member
Sep 1, 2012
2,327
42
91
The sun never rises or sets. The planet just rotates so the sun is in view for a while and then rotates to where we can't see it for a while.
 

massmedia

Senior member
Oct 1, 2014
232
0
0
This is fine with me as long as my timezone has sunrise at 6AM in April

Those of you on the other side of the Earth can wake up in the pitch black of night and go about your lives nocturnally.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,646
13,822
126
www.anyf.ca
I'd be up for that, and let's abolish the whole DST stuff while we're at it too.

Of course if they were to do that it would take a bit of adjusting to do as all the times would be changed but that would not really be a big deal.

It would sure make everyone's life easier when they deal with people in other time zones.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,646
13,822
126
www.anyf.ca
The sun never rises or sets. The planet just rotates so the sun is in view for a while and then rotates to where we can't see it for a while.

It's all relative. There is no set point. Relative to the Earth, the sun is actually rotating around the Earth. We are the centre of everything! :colbert:

Come to think of it, there is probably no set speed at which things in space are traveling at since you need to have a set point to compare it to, and that could be anything. Relative to the Earth the sun is traveling 19.625 million km/h. I probably got that way off but you get the idea. :p
 

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Maybe we could stop the planet's rotation. Then the side facing the sun would be the light, happy, agricultural, park-like, blue skies and cotton candy world, while the side facing away from the sun could be the dark, introspective, jazzy, smoky, slightly kinky and dangerous world.
 

rednas

Senior member
May 26, 2010
298
0
76
you know that the united states has WAY more time zones than the ones in the continental United States?
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,646
13,822
126
www.anyf.ca
Maybe we could stop the planet's rotation. Then the side facing the sun would be the light, happy, agricultural, park-like, blue skies and cotton candy world, while the side facing away from the sun could be the dark, introspective, jazzy, smoky, slightly kinky and dangerous world.

Basically we can just do the opposite of what they did in "The Core". We need to send people down there and create some nuclear implosions.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
I'd be up for that, and let's abolish the whole DST stuff while we're at it too.

Of course if they were to do that it would take a bit of adjusting to do as all the times would be changed but that would not really be a big deal.

It would sure make everyone's life easier when they deal with people in other time zones.

How would making the clock meaningless make everything easier?

Really I don't think any for this idea has any concept of why things are the way they are.
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
Making time zones irrelevant is a requirement for long range space travel and eventually the colonization of other planets. Its only a matter of time.
 

Majcric

Golden Member
May 3, 2011
1,409
65
91
Time zones are fine. But daylight savings time should be a thing of the past.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Making time zones irrelevant is a requirement for long range space travel and eventually the colonization of other planets. Its only a matter of time.

Time zones on earth have nothing to do with space travel or colonizing planets.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Yea it does actually.

No it doesn't, for previously stated reasons I shouldn't need to repeat. If you can't understand the reason why time zones are important then you can't possibly understand anything regarding space travel and planet colonization.