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submitted 2 days ago by xkcdbot@lemmy.world to c/xkcd@lemmy.world

xkcd #3272: Time Change

Title text:

All discussions of daylight saving time policy are doomed by a mix of contradictory, inconsistent, and impossible preferences, which is why I think the only thing we can really hope to do is to make it worse.

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3272/

explainxkcd for #3272

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[-] applebusch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 89 points 2 days ago

maybe we could restructure our society so everyone gets enough sleep according to their own circadian rhythm. that would be cool.

[-] sundray@lemmus.org 54 points 2 days ago

I don't know... that sort of thing might not make billionaires even wealthier.

[-] applebusch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 26 points 2 days ago

crazy fact, well rested people are more productive than tired people, and more productive people make more money. but we all know it isnt really about the money for them dont we?

[-] sundray@lemmus.org 15 points 2 days ago

Honestly, the wealthy just want us to be miserable.

[-] Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it 1 points 2 days ago

Do you think they are so smart?

[-] dumples@piefed.social 7 points 2 days ago

Dumb. Much better idea is to split the daylight into 12 equal chunks and the night into 12 equal chunks so we have 24 hours a day 12 of which are light and 12 of which are dark.

It's so simple. We just got to change the definition of an hour everyday.

[-] drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago

They used to do this. Hours were divisions of the day, like slices of a pie, rather than a specific length of time.

Using equal hours, and dividing them into minutes, was something only astronomers did to help with their calculations.

[-] dumples@piefed.social 1 points 1 day ago

It kind of makes sense in a way. It feels more natural

[-] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 13 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

An 8 h work day during the winter flies by, but the lunch hour is only long enough for one bite sandwich. On the other hand, 12 h of night is plenty enough for all my hobbies.

In the summer, work devours your entire life and there’s hardly any time to sleep.

[-] grranibal@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 days ago

Just normalize 4h work days :D

[-] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 days ago

Sounds good to me. In this case, 4 flexible hours of work in the summer means about 6 fixed length hours. In the winter those 4 flexible hours translate to about 2 fixed length hours, so I think I'll have plenty of time for my hobbies.

[-] grranibal@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

One can dream of such a beautiful future

[-] dumples@piefed.social 2 points 2 days ago

This is exactly what I was thinking. Smaller working hours. Or at least smaller around the peak of summer and winter.

[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago
[-] dumples@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago

Twice a day or once a day for the day hours length vs night length hours. Also for every latitude as well. What a simple system

this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2026
561 points (99.3% liked)

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