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The Forum > General Discussion > Everything is decimal except time - in a computer age - we need decimal time!

Everything is decimal except time - in a computer age - we need decimal time!

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Let's consider the following:

A millenium is 1000 years,
A century is 100 years.
The last four months are named in numerical
Latin for 7,8,9,10. (Septem, Octo, Novem, Decem).

To divide the clock into 100 seconds, 100 minutes and
ten hours. Two times ten = 1 day (20 hour day), is not
difficult.

A ten day week will work giving 3.65 weeks to a month
and 10 months to the year.

The Lunar month is hardly relevant today.

With 365 days in the year each month would alternate with
37 and 36 days with an extra day for the Leap Year.

Either a Latin numerical naming of months already existing
for the last four months could be adopted or a new naming
of months established such as the more relevant names in some
languages relating to Seasons, Harvest, Festivals.

The writing of the date is numerical and appears decimal
eg. 20.06.10.

Work 7 days 8 to 5 rest 3 days with miniscule variance from
current duration. That is, the same as 24 hour clock and
twelve month calendar.

Festival dates will remain. eg. Christmas 25.10.10.
i.e. 25th day of the last month of the year.

The idea may not be for current thinking but as currency
weight and distance went decimal in the last century
time can change in the 21st century.

This would be ideal for computers and business.

Any improvements on the concept would be
greatly appreciated.
Posted by Foxy, Friday, 5 February 2010 10:08:15 AM
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Foxy,

That's great in theory, but...

Straight off the bat, your day would have 200,000 seconds in it. Currently it has 86,400. So, you would have to recalibrate the duration of a second so that 200,000 of them would fit into a solar day. Do you know how much disruption that would cause? Not to mention changing all the IT and computer programs that have been worked up over the decades.

Anyway, there's something quaintly familiar about our yearly calendar that goes to our civilisation's origins.
Posted by RobP, Friday, 5 February 2010 11:44:01 AM
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I think time is in the same category as the qwerty keyboard. Not totally sensible but way to difficult to change.
Posted by mikk, Friday, 5 February 2010 11:49:38 AM
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What day would the footy be on.
You just choked the religious mob.
Posted by Desmond, Friday, 5 February 2010 3:14:00 PM
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Hi Foxy

You're not wrestling this on your own.

http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15311296

I particularly like this observation:

"Decimal time has been tried on many occasions. Indeed, a decimal calendar based on a ten-month year was used by Romans during the time of Romulus and Remus. Their calendar ran from March to December. The two missing months needed to make up a solar year were dismissed as winter when nothing grew or happened—and therefore not worth worrying about."

What a great attitude!

Not much happening this time of year, so let's not bother too much about what month it is...

Ah, simple times.
Posted by Pericles, Friday, 5 February 2010 3:30:51 PM
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Dear RobP,

You're right there would be too many seconds.

I have been contemplating deleting seconds and only
staying with 100 minutes to the hour.
But an option could be 1000 minutes to the hour
which would make it simpler. After all there are
3600 seconds in an hour.

As far as IT and computer programs are concerned -
we did have the threat of the Millenium Bug when
computers were less developed and the problem
seems to have been re-solved.

Dear mikk,

Almost every human advance involves taking some
considerable risks - and is based on experiment,
innovation and adventure. We've gone from propeller
planes to jet engines and everybody said that decimal
currency conversion would cause chaos and yet today
we live with it comfortably.

Dear Des,

Footy would be on the 9th day and the religious would
have the 10th day.

Dear Pericles,

Yes, times will become simpler.

It's a decimal world today.

We even write time - 2.45 which actually means 2 hours
45 minutes but reads as 2.45 hours and computer technology
would make a simple meal of the conversion.

Perhaps some computer expert can set up a program on
the computers?
Posted by Foxy, Friday, 5 February 2010 5:45:33 PM
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