Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

bwaibel t1_j108j8r wrote

Reply to comment by factotvm in It is 7:34 in the morning the day before the winter solstice. Look outside right now, and know that if we did “Daylight Saving” time year round, it would be 8:34. by factotvm

Solar noon is almost never at noon. If we were to follow your logic we’d have a different time at every point on earth. Instead we made an approximation that tends to work ok, it’s better than the same time everywhere I think.

In the end which time slot you’re in just barely matters. What matters is that it’s totally ridiculous to shift the slot twice a year. If people want solar noon at 12:45 instead of 11:45 it makes no difference. Permanent DST is nice on the west coast because it puts the whole country on a tighter clock. I think that’s a material benefit that far outweighs the ridiculous argument you’re making about the definition of the word meridian.

13

CheckmateApostates t1_j12fdnb wrote

Right, solar noon fluctuates throughout the year and is only at 12 pm close to the eastern edge of a time zone. We have solar noon at noon in Spokane during half the year, whereas everyone else comes later.

1

bwaibel t1_j12vtem wrote

Right, so your point is that if solar noon was on the west side of a time zone it would be a disaster? If you were on the same time as your neighbors in Montana and southern Idaho then all hell would break loose?

1

CheckmateApostates t1_j131ii2 wrote

No, I was agreeing with your reply. A lot of these "solar noon is 12 pm" people don't seem to understand that, though. It's just weird how if I go to Missoula and gain an hour on the clock but only like 15 minutes of real time with respect to sunset, I'm not suddenly at risk of my heart exploding or any of those other nonsense things that anti-DST people argue.

2

bwaibel t1_j14alfl wrote

Sorry, I thought you were OP. Must be a case of late night Reddit syndrome.

1