[LEAPSECS] Calendar authority

[Warner Losh]

On Apr 10, 2012, at 5:19 AM, Tony Finch wrote:


> Clive D.W. Feather <clive at davros.org> wrote:

>> Markus Kuhn said:

>>> 

>>> I don't think the authority of ISO to define what calendar we use is

>>> any higher than (say) the authority of Wikipedia on such matters. They

>>> both are merely widely-respected committees reporting on what the

>>> current consensus is.

>> 

>> Indeed. This is clearly something in the remit of national governments.

>> See, for example, 24 Geo.2 c.23 or the decision of the National Convention

>> on 1793-10-24.

> 

> Individual national governments don't have much authority to legislate

> calendars - the Easter Act 1928 is a nice example. It's a matter of

> international consensus, and the world is much bigger and more

> interconnected than in the 1500s.


Yea.  The Pope was able to promulgate the calendar then.  I doubt it could be changed at all, except in some minor technical way (like the suggestion that every year divisible by 10000 not be a leap year), but not in any major way (eg, getting the reformed Julian Calendar would be right out).  And even something like that is best done via ISO.  But we have 7k years before it is more than just a theoretical issue, so I bet more pressing things get done first... :)

Warner