DS Forums

 
 

Should we change the year?


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 21-12-2016, 12:39
JimothyD
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 7,222
If we were to change the time system, we need to replace it with a much simpler alternative. I propose the following:

Instead of numbers, years become letters. 2017 will be 'A'.

Months become lower case letters, so Jan 2017 will be Aa.

Days become vowels, so 1 Jan 2017 will become Aaa.
2 Jan 2017 will become Aae etc...

When each vowel is exhausted, each subsequent day adds a consonant, so for example, 6 Jan 2017 will become Aaub.

Any disputes in this date format will be resolved by an international panel of adjudicators.

Hopefully with this system, it is possible that some date in the future spells out 'boobies' and this could become known as 'national boobies day' - with all the related festivities you can imagine.

It's clear and simple.
JimothyD is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 21-12-2016, 12:44
pork.pie
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: On top of the sherry trifle.
Posts: 10,106
Not everything needs changing, whatever half-arsed theory you decide to use as an excuse.
pork.pie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 12:49
TerraCanis
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: The Mysterious East
Posts: 5,825
Because it is based on a false hood.

It is not the year 2017 in terms of how long humans have existed.

I agree with another poster that the start of the year should be on the 21st of December.

Perhaps we should use a stardate like they do on Star Trek.
You could always think of the date as being referenced to an arbitrary datum if you prefer.
TerraCanis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 12:50
JimothyD
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 7,222
Just because Christianity in the UK is fading, it doesn't mean we should erase it from our history. I'm not religious, but I respect the vital place Christianity has in our history and heritage.
JimothyD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 13:04
renard gris
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 935
Now that the west has moved away from Christiantity to securism, wouldn't it be a good idea to stop using the year system that counts up from Jesus Christ's supposed birth? The current year system started by monks in the 5th century, isn't it time we moved on? But what could we change it to? Here are some suggestions:

Ab urbe conidita

AUC means since the founding of Rome. It counts up from when the Ancient Romans thought Rome had been founded by Romulus and Remus, starting in 753 BC, making the current year 2769 AUC.

Counting up from Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece being the birth place of western civilisation, this might be the best place to the start the calender. But the biggest problem is that no one know when it stared so it would be just a case of adding a random 1,000 or so years.

Holocene Calander

This just adds 10,000 years to the current system because the Holoscene Epoch occused back then.

Country specific

Or every country should just have their own calender counting up from some big national event or from when the country was founded. They tried to bring this system in in France after the revolution but it was unpopular. In the USA they could start the calander from independance, so the year there would be 240USAC (United States of America Calender). Every country would have their own calander and when you mentioned a year you'd have to specify which one you were talking about like "I was born on March 10th 200USAC, but moved France in 220USAC, which is also 205FRC. But I spent two years in Australia in the year 99ACT, which is also 209FRC and 226USAC."
Personally speaking, you could start Year 0 from:

* when the Earth was first formed

or

* from when the first, earliest recorded humans inhabited the Earth
renard gris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 13:24
spiney2
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 24,098
There is no such thng as time so it doesn't really matter what we want to apply.
a believer in the ''block universe'' ? In which case, there's no such thing as free will, either. I like to think that, in our ''here and now'', perspective ('the specious present'), the future has not been written, and we do have some free will .........
spiney2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 13:37
tanstaafl
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: London
Posts: 11,146
Has anyone mentioned Julian Dates yet; very popular with astronomers. I think it's about two and a half million at the moment.

And what about the French Revolutionary calendar? Never mind meek and mild non-religious, this is the calendar for the actively anti-religious. And the names of the months have real class. I mean; Thermidor, Floreal, Brumaire. Try competing with that January and February.
tanstaafl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 14:16
Doctor_Wibble
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 10,892
Has anyone mentioned Julian Dates yet;
No, but I imagine the poor sod hates these discussions, what were Mr and Mrs Dates thinking

And the names of the months have real class. I mean; Thermidor, Floreal, Brumaire. ...
Right, 'thermidor' is that thing you use to keep cigars warm, 'floreal' is obviously a flowery thing, and I'm guessing 'Brum air' is a kind of pea soup...?
Doctor_Wibble is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 14:21
barbeler
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,692
I think the Islamic year equates to the Christian year some of them think they're living in.
barbeler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 14:30
Happ Hazzard
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Posts: 1,639
The whole system of time is outdated, it should be based on 10s and 100s, not 60s and 24s, and other random numbers.

100 seconds should be a minute, 100 minutes an hour. 10 hours a day. 12 months of 30 days plus 5 (or 6) days holday at the end of the year.

And there should be no time differences around the world. Same time throughout. Why does it matter?
Happ Hazzard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 14:44
Flash525
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Gloucestershire, England
Posts: 4,798
At the moment, there's no need too. However, I think there will be a point in the future (likely when we develop intergalactic travel and start colonising other worlds) that there will be a requirement for it. Until such a time, there's really no need.
Flash525 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 14:46
Ben_Copland
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Work, probably..
Posts: 3,837
The whole system of time is outdated, it should be based on 10s and 100s, not 60s and 24s, and other random numbers.

100 seconds should be a minute, 100 minutes an hour. 10 hours a day. 12 months of 30 days plus 5 (or 6) days holday at the end of the year.

And there should be no time differences around the world. Same time throughout. Why does it matter?
If all the time was the same throughout the world, it would be pitch black at midday somewhere.

MID DAY. Day, as in day time, a time when it's light.
Ben_Copland is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 14:50
Zeropoint1
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Derbyshire / UK
Posts: 3,727
At the moment, there's no need too. However, I think there will be a point in the future (likely when we develop intergalactic travel and start colonising other worlds) that there will be a requirement for it. Until such a time, there's really no need.
There's no need to change to another system when we start colonising other planets and moons.

They can just adapt to Earth time and bloody well like it!
Zeropoint1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 15:42
Doctor_Wibble
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 10,892
There's no need to change to another system when we start colonising other planets and moons.
I think that's a little unfair. They should be allowed to adopt whatever method they feel is most appropriate, given their days and years are more than likely going to be different lengths from ours.
In any case they would be very much aware and possibly even proud of their own time system so there would be little doubt when reading that tea-time* will be at three daisies past a crayon, give or take a blob of plasticine.

They can just adapt to Earth time and bloody well like it!
When talking to us you're damn right they will



* as in time for tea, as opposed to teh-ah-ti-meh
Doctor_Wibble is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 15:49
cnbcwatcher
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: At college, in L.A.'s office
Posts: 54,215
It's fine as it is and it would be a pain to change it.
cnbcwatcher is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 15:57
Happ Hazzard
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Posts: 1,639
If all the time was the same throughout the world, it would be pitch black at midday somewhere.

MID DAY. Day, as in day time, a time when it's light.
No it wouldn't because mid-day would be at whatever time mid-day was in that country.
Happ Hazzard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 16:13
Laurel1ne
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: London Town
Posts: 160
Don't the Japanese mark their years as the year of the reign of the Current Japanese Emperor? So maybe we could do it with Liz ?

So she's the 51st Monarch of England and this is her 64th year, so we'd be in 51 64. Scotland may want a different year though
Laurel1ne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 16:40
Zeropoint1
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Derbyshire / UK
Posts: 3,727
Don't the Japanese mark their years as the year of the reign of the Current Japanese Emperor? So maybe we could do it with Liz ?

So she's the 51st Monarch of England and this is her 64th year, so we'd be in 51 64. Scotland may want a different year though
Don't give the SNP any ideas. They'll probably count from the year of Mel Gibson playing Braveheart, or more likely from Queen Wee Krankys birth.
Zeropoint1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 16:42
SULLA
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Black Country lad in Yorkshire
Posts: 118,047
Now that the west has moved away from Christiantity to securism, wouldn't it be a good idea to stop using the year system that counts up from Jesus Christ's supposed birth? The current year system started by monks in the 5th century, isn't it time we moved on? But what could we change it to? Here are some suggestions:
Supposed birth ? Do you think that he just appeared on earth as an adult ?

Technically it isn't fine, as we date things from the birth of a historical figure that may or may not have existed, and certainly may not have been the son of God.

We should be trying to date things from both the beginning of the Universe and from when Humanity first evolved.
May or may exisited. His birth was the most significant thing in history.

Because it is based on a false hood.
Only that it is a few years out

If you're particularly worried about the Christian associations (I'm not, Anno Domini has a splendid ring to it) these were binned a number of decades ago. The generally accepted terminology nowadays is CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era).
and what is the start of the common era based on ?

The whole system of time is outdated, it should be based on 10s and 100s, not 60s and 24s, and other random numbers.

100 seconds should be a minute, 100 minutes an hour. 10 hours a day. 12 months of 30 days plus 5 (or 6) days holday at the end of the year.

And there should be no time differences around the world. Same time throughout. Why does it matter?
Your days would be too long unless you altered the time of the second. All watches and clocks would be automatically useless.
SULLA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 17:27
RobinOfLoxley
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Devon
Posts: 12,838
The Wiki entry for Jesus has him born around 4BC, which causes problems for Dating, but is a neat trick. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
RobinOfLoxley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 20:01
_ben
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 4,723
12 months of 30 days plus 5 (or 6) days holday at the end of the year.
Or 13 months of 4 weeks each, with a one day intermission at the end of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcMTHr3TqA0
_ben is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 20:07
muggins14
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: The Pit of Despair
Posts: 50,183
They've already done that as at the end of it baby cheese's was born


Is that like a mini Babybell?
muggins14 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 20:11
muggins14
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: The Pit of Despair
Posts: 50,183
No it wouldn't because mid-day would be at whatever time mid-day was in that country.
Sounds so useful for international business.
muggins14 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 20:27
Zeropoint1
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Derbyshire / UK
Posts: 3,727
Sounds so useful for international business.
Business would be much better off adapting to country specific calenders so as not to offend those in other countries.

Just image I could book my holiday to New York on 37/14/240 USAC and book my time off from work on 19/2/00 UKBREXCAL and while I'm there upgrade my package for a UKBREXCAL 7 day week in Canada which would equate to 9.4 Canadian days using their metric calendar system.

It would be a piece of cake for Dan Air to make sure the booking went to plan.
Zeropoint1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-12-2016, 20:58
_ben
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 4,723
I work on Unix time. It's about 1482290800 at the moment.
Ah, but in years it's only 45. I'd use GPS time, that's only 35 years.
_ben is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 03:26.