> Time is tricky but there is a simple fact: it exists such a thing as the number of actual seconds elapsed since 'time x' (typically the Unix epoch but anything else will do too).
Yeah. Hmm.
Clearly an opinion expressed without either reading, comprehension, or experience.
Why would I say that? Well, consider your statement about "actual seconds elapsed since epoch". Leaving aside the fact that Unix Time enumerates no such thing (and it was Unix Time I was discussing), there are such things as time frames and relativistic effects which come into play when doing fine scientific measurement, astronomical work, and ground satellite communications.
There are levels to dealing with time and the linked article makes a decent first order stab at climbing the ladder, even ground based programmers need to be wary of the leap seconds issue and the plethora of time standards with minute but significant (in some context or another) issues.
When you've cooled down a little consider the title "What every programmer should know ...". Had it been "What most programmers can skate by on" I probably wouldn't have bothered to comment.
I agree there are many good papers on the subject, going back decades, I'm betting the google paper you speak of references a classic one on time stamps and relativity as some times local event order trumps universal order (and in fact the paper pivots on the observation that universal order doesn't really exist, just effective order).