[LEAPSECS] leapseconds on trains

[Warner Losh]

On Nov 17, 2011, at 1:17 PM, Nero Imhard wrote:

> On 2011-11-17, at 19:57, Ask Bjørn Hansen wrote:

> 

>> Count me in with the uninformed then and please help inform us.  (Just to be clear here; I'm completely serious - I understand the general concept of course, but I genuinely don't understand the specific use cases for having leap seconds).

> 

> I would say that the use case is quite irrelevant. The use case dictates the choice of time scale, not the other way. Fundamentally changing the definition of a time scale is an insult to those who have made a deliberate choice, regardless their numbers or importance. It makes proper engineering impossible.



It is more a fundamental definition of time.  Is it Time as in "elapse time from some epoch" or is it time as in the time of day at a particular spot on earth.  The friction here represents the friction in real life as society continues the transition away from strict solar time to more of an elapsed time paradigm.  Should we embrace the shift, or should we be true to the past.

Warner