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Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by kemiller on Thursday October 26, 2017 @04:23PM (#15562676)
Good God, no. The time isn’t just an arbitrary number to help coordinate meetings, it communicates what time of the day/night cycle you’re experiencing, to a reasonable approximation. Having separate time zones may be annoying, but it forces you to think about others’ experience. If I say I was up last night til 4 in the morning, that tells you something.
Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by racer-v on Thursday October 26, 2017 @04:28PM (#15562727)
Agree. Noon should be the moment when the sun is at its highest altitude in the sky, or a close approximation thereof.
Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by rocqua on Thursday October 26, 2017 @06:54PM (#15563956)
I think the sunrise is a better fixture socially, and maybe the sunset is a better fixture biologically. Noon is just an easy to measure compromise for the above two.

Social life and timing mostly revolves around how early you get up. "Its late" kind of means "I am behind schedule to get enough sleep before waking up".

Biologically, we are programmed around sunlight. Whilst our mornings aren't really controlled by the biological clock (that is what the alarm is for), the evening really are. Besides, the for many people, the evening is what separates 'civil life' from 'private life'.

Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by racer-v on Thursday October 26, 2017 @07:43PM (#15564270)
I agree, but sunrise and sunset have the disadvantage of not being fixed (unless you live on the equator).
Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by rocqua on Friday October 27, 2017 @09:25AM (#15568010)
Ah, yes. The time between sunsets isn't fixed but the time between noons is.
Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by mcny on Thursday October 26, 2017 @05:56PM (#15563460)
> Agree. Noon should be the moment when the sun is at its highest altitude in the sky, or a close approximataion thereof.

I too want the same time worldwide but I guess the best we can do is UTC. I mean we could do it but I fear we'd just be sweeping the ugliness under the rug. I don't want this kind mess https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_China

> Currently, timezone usage within Xinjiang is roughly split along the ethnic divide, with most ethnic Han following Beijing time and most ethnic Uyghurs following Ürümqi Time.

Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by incompatible on Thursday October 26, 2017 @07:17PM (#15564104)
We already have UTC when you want the same time worldwide. Using UTC in everyday life would be somewhat confusing when travelling. I guess it would take quite a while to get used to things happening at a different time on the clock.
Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by austincheney on Friday October 27, 2017 @02:26PM (#15570962)
Why? Noon is just a number on a clock. Midday is when the sun is half-way between dawn and dusk.
Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by normaljoe on Friday October 27, 2017 @02:52PM (#15571145)
Noon literally means midday. It predates clocks and solar noon would drive your sundial.
Re:Massachusetts is considering leaving the Eastern Time Zone by thaumasiotes on Thursday October 26, 2017 @08:13PM (#15564463)
> If I say I was up last night til 4 in the morning, that tells you something.

No it doesn't.

If you say you got two hours of sleep, that tells me something. When you sleep is your own choice.

https://xkcd.com/361/