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Metric Time

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Re: Metric Time

#161

Post by blululu »

jhbadger wrote: post #146
vaughan wrote: post #102

.beat time or Swatch Internet Time is way better. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_Internet_Time

In a way, China kind of has something like the Swatch gimmick for real. There's just one time zone in the whole country (which is roughly the size of the Continental US). This has benefits (easy to coordinate video conferences in different cities) and drawbacks (the official time is far off from what the sun would indicate in much of China).

It only works because the overwhelming majority of the population and all of the political and economic power lies on the east coast of China in a single time zone. I doubt that the people in Urumqi are happy to have the sun rise at 10 am, and I doubt that anyone cares about their opinions.

Re: Metric Time

#162

Post by kybernetikos »

willis936 wrote: post #145
L3viathan wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also nice how they IMMEDIATELY ran into a continuing fraction 1/3, which is exactly the point of the 60-minute hour, 24-hour day, or 360-degree circle: lots of factors. While I agree in principle, this example is not evidence of it. It's not like we measured the amount of sleep needed and it's precisely 8 hours. A more reasonable thing to say would be: You need to sleep for 3.5 metric hours.

I don't really care how much sleep I get as long as it's enough. I care greatly when the bus leaves and when my meetings are. Anything that hopes to replace a clock had better be adding precision rather than removing it.

Decimal seconds are slightly shorter than normal seconds, so times that use seconds are more precise. The other fun thing is that decimal time doesn't really need names for the levels, it's just numbers of significant figures so if you only want to give the first digit of the seconds that works too.

Re: Metric Time

#163

Post by jader201 »

toxik wrote: post #74

I love how the example is super confusing. You sleep 3.33… metric hours. You fall asleep 9:50 metric time. You'd think we can just interchange the . and : so you should wake up 12:83…, or 2:83… the next day. But no, it's apparently 2:75 metric time. Why? Also nice how they IMMEDIATELY ran into a continuing fraction 1/3, which is exactly the point of the 60-minute hour, 24-hour day, or 360-degree circle: lots of facto…

It’s too bad it doesn’t take exactly 360 days for the earth to orbit the Sun.

We should do something about that.

Re: Metric Time

#164

Post by bmacho »

eps wrote: post #108
toxik wrote: post #74

I love how the example is super confusing. You sleep 3.33… metric hours. You fall asleep 9:50 metric time. You'd think we can just interchange the . and : so you should wake up 12:83…, or 2:83… the next day. But no, it's apparently 2:75 metric time. Why? Also nice how they IMMEDIATELY ran into a continuing fraction 1/3, which is exactly the point of the 60-minute hour, 24-hour day, or 360-degree circle: lots of facto…

Come to think of it, being able to cleanly divide a minute or an hour into 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 equal parts is pretty damn handy.

Yes. That's why I love metric clock, the number '5' screams 1/2 to me, and '3.33' screams 1/3 much more than 6 and 4 do.

Re: Metric Time

#165

Post by pelario »

jonwinstanley wrote: post #159

This is cool. However, for me, it's the months that are the weirdest issue. Why do we all get paid the same each month, pay the same rent/mortgage but some months have 4 weekends, some have 5. We should have 13 months, all 28 days long, exactly 4 weeks. Whenever there's a leap year we get an extra day for free. :-)

Except 13×28 = 364, so you get the "free day" every year, and two of them on leap ones

Re: Metric Time

#167

Post by littlestymaar »

Karellen wrote: post #120
tomtomtom777 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. The exact amount of sleep needed on average is almost certainly an irrational number. (Because almost every number is irrational)

Are you sure? Isn't the average calculated by dividing by n , an integer? Edit: I mean, you're right that nearly every number is irrational. But I think averages are going to be some of the tiny fraction of numbers that aren't.

> Edit: I mean, you're right that nearly every number is irrational.

The set of rational number is a “null set”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Null_set

Re: Metric Time

#168

Post by jader201 »

funcDropShadow wrote: post #106
jader201 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is the author thought this was an original idea, and just named it “metric” since that usually means some form of base-10 measurement.

No "metric" units means they are derived from the meter. Originally, most units in the SI systems were derived from the meter.

Technically, yes. But measurements of weight, volume, and temperature are also part of the metric system, and those didn’t derive from the meter.

Seconds are also part of the metric system, but one of the few not based on decimal/base-10.

Again, I’m just speculating that the author used “metric” because it often represents decimal/base-10 measurements. Not really arguing whether they were technically correct in doing so.

Re: Metric Time

#169

Post by Humphrey »

jonwinstanley wrote: post #159

This is cool. However, for me, it's the months that are the weirdest issue. Why do we all get paid the same each month, pay the same rent/mortgage but some months have 4 weekends, some have 5. We should have 13 months, all 28 days long, exactly 4 weeks. Whenever there's a leap year we get an extra day for free. :-)

> Why do we all get paid the same each month, pay the same rent/mortgage but some months have 4 weekends, some have 5.

Is paying monthly an American thing? In Australia most things seem to revolve around n weeks.

- I get paid on Thu every second week (2 weeks)

- My pre-paid phone auto-recharged is every 28 days (4 weeks).

- House rentals are listed as weekly rates, paid at whatever n weeks you negotiate.

- Mortgages are monthly by default, but most let you opt for n weeks, so most people pick the day after they are paid. Interest is still added monthly though.

The only things I can think of that I'm charged monthly for are online subscriptions, which I suspect got influenced by America.

> We should have 13 months, all 28 days long, exactly 4 weeks. Whenever there's a leap year we get an extra day for free.

Same length months would be cool... but as above, months don't mean practical month to me except for having to remember which one we are in.

Re: Metric Time

#170

Post by zombot »

> There is no AM or PM with metric time.

There is no AM or PM with 24-hour time, either. I don't think the AM/PM fans care much whether the range they are messing up has 24 or 10 units.

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