|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second, a major premise for the necessity of time zones was the argument that scheduling and record-keeping had to be performed by hand and was too complex to perform economically in the context of local times. This argument was true in the late nineteenth century but is not true in an age of computers. Time zones are often viewed as an improvement. They are not. They are simply the product of a characteristic response to a set of historical circumstances in the late nineteenth century. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Third, the number of nations in the world is increasing, not decreasing. A consequence of this trend is an increase in the number of time zones declared by nations. This trend is a direct result of the spread of communications and production technology, enabling smaller areas to go it alone. The increasing number of local zones is making the time zone system increasingly meaningless. As the number of time zones increases, local time becomes a kind of asymptote. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth, the system has been mangled into an almost unrecognizable mess by political considerations. Several sorts of abuse are possible. One form of abuse is "lumping", by declaring ludicrously large zones. China, for example, although it spans five time zones, insists on applying the same zone everywhere within its borders. As a consequence, when it is noon on the Pacific coast, it is also noon in the westernmost provinces, even if the sun is just coming up. This is ludicrous. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another form of abuse is "splitting", in which the zones are made hopelessly complex and are constantly changing at the whims of interest groups. In the United States, zone boundaries do not follow state boundaries. They do not follow county boundaries. They do not even follow municipal boundaries. The boundaries are so complex that no map exists that actually conveys an accurate description of time zone boundaries in that country. This is ludicrous. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A third form of abuse is the "end run". The former Soviet Union spanned eleven time zones and represented a very large part of the Asian land mass. It defined eleven zones, designated by Roman numerals, beginning with Zone II in the West and ending with Zone XII in the far East. So far, so good. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It was decided, however, that each zone should be assigned a displacement from GMT one hour greater than it should be, according to the zone system. Thus, Zone II, which should represent a displacement from GMT of +2 hours, was assigned a displacement of +3 hours, and so on. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The consequence of this assignment pattern is that Zone XII has a displacement of +13 hours from GMT, which is not a valid value in the original system, since the zone is specifically defined as remaining on the western side of the International Date Line. The Soviet system is, in effect, an attempt to replace the International Time Zone system within its own borders with a local system. This system is not necessarily ludicrous, but it does not conform to international usage, and has strictly local applicability. The practical effect of this system is that Soviet time zones are useless for relating international zone boundaries to times, since all of the zones are, in effect, shifted to the east. |
|
|
|
|
|