[LEAPSECS] Dava Sobel article about Charlottesville meeting

[Rob Seaman]

> ...times displayed by different cell phones can vary by several minutes.


This was a similar talking point at the first UTC meeting (p.4, last para.):

	http://www.cacr.caltech.edu/futureofutc/2011/preprints/47_Concluding_discuss_11.pdf

LEAPSECS is extremely practiced at dissecting assertions about civil timekeeping.  No piece written for a general audience stands a chance.  The next paragraph mentions Genesis; one suspects a biblical scholar could find issues, too :-)

On the other hand, fact-checking the later statements about circadian rhythms ("25-hour species trapped on a 24-hour planet") shows that we humans are actually better clocks than asserted:

	http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/07.15/bioclock24.html

Not a 25 hour species, but 24h 11m +/- 2.4 minutes.

We might want to avoid missing the forest for the trees:

	http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/a-blog-around-the-clock/2012/02/22/chestnut-tree-circadian-clock-stops-in-winter/

Even a stopped clock can fill a useful role in timekeeping...

Rob