[LEAPSECS] How you know you're having an effect (was Re: ...)

[Clive D.W. Feather]

Rob Seaman said:

> 	FACT: civil timekeeping is ultimately tied to the synodic day (i.e., "mean solar time")


You make this claim regularly and label it "fact". However, it is a claim,
not a fact. It may be true at present, but that's just as likely to be
because the people setting civil timekeeping don't understand the issues.
After all, given that the time that summer time starts and ends in a large
part of the world depends on what language you speak, can you really claim
with a straight face that legislators have thought this through?

The fact that people happily accept a difference of over two hours between
legal and mean solar time means they aren't *that* worried about it. And
what little pressure there is on the topic in the UK is in favour of making
the discrepency *bigger*.

(Yes, I know the difference between cyclic and monotonic effects. That's
not the point.)

-- 
Clive D.W. Feather          | If you lie to the compiler,
Email: clive at davros.org     | it will get its revenge.
Web: http://www.davros.org  |   - Henry Spencer
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