> Let’s say we do that, use UTC everywhere. You live in London. It’s 3 PM. For you, that’s mid-afternoon. It’s your brother’s birthday. You want to phone him and wish him a happy birthday. He lives in Sydney. In a world without timezones, it’s 3 PM for him too. So you give him a call and start singing loudly when he answers. He’s mad at you because actually it’s the middle of the night and he’s sleeping.
London to Sydney is a poor example because it takes a very stupid person to fail to realize their _brother_ who is on the other side of the world isn't up at midday.
But how about New York City and San Francisco. People do that _today_, because it's 8AM in New York and they forget it's 5AM in San Francisco -- or reversed, and it's 8PM and 11PM.
Why is that a problem? Because people have to keep track of the timezones and then do the math (most people are shockingly bad at basic arithmetic). That's a problem _today_ that you are ignoring.
> Abolishing timezones doesn’t make coordination problems easier. In fact, it makes them harder.
You claim that but you haven't demonstrated that. And the evidence I've seen points to the opposite.
Three brothers, Tom, Dick and Harry all live in the same city, in the same timezone. They know that Tom gets up early and goes to bed early, Dick gets up late and goes to bed late, and Harry travels so God knows when he's awake. They _know_ this and don't call Tom late at night, Dick early in the morning, or Harry without knowing where in the world he is.
Now spread those brothers around the world and the same thing is true: Tom gets up at 1000Z and is asleep by 0200Z, Dick gets up at 1700Z and is asleep around 0900Z, and God knows about Harry.
No timezones, a single clock and much simpler arithmetic. This also makes planning meetings easier.
Timezones are a 19th century solution to a 19th century problem. They _FAIL_ at our 21st century world.
London to Sydney is a poor example because it takes a very stupid person to fail to realize their _brother_ who is on the other side of the world isn't up at midday.
But how about New York City and San Francisco. People do that _today_, because it's 8AM in New York and they forget it's 5AM in San Francisco -- or reversed, and it's 8PM and 11PM.
Why is that a problem? Because people have to keep track of the timezones and then do the math (most people are shockingly bad at basic arithmetic). That's a problem _today_ that you are ignoring.
> Abolishing timezones doesn’t make coordination problems easier. In fact, it makes them harder.
You claim that but you haven't demonstrated that. And the evidence I've seen points to the opposite.
Three brothers, Tom, Dick and Harry all live in the same city, in the same timezone. They know that Tom gets up early and goes to bed early, Dick gets up late and goes to bed late, and Harry travels so God knows when he's awake. They _know_ this and don't call Tom late at night, Dick early in the morning, or Harry without knowing where in the world he is.
Now spread those brothers around the world and the same thing is true: Tom gets up at 1000Z and is asleep by 0200Z, Dick gets up at 1700Z and is asleep around 0900Z, and God knows about Harry.
No timezones, a single clock and much simpler arithmetic. This also makes planning meetings easier.
Timezones are a 19th century solution to a 19th century problem. They _FAIL_ at our 21st century world.