Howdy Fellow Cerebralists,

So one particular issue has been poking at me recently, and it coincidentally pertains to time, like my last posting.

Contrary to popular belief, the average day cycle of Earth is 23 hours, 56 minutes long, and not the exact 24 hours that has been canonized through the centuries. That means that the calendar is thrown off four minutes for every day that passes. This adds up to exactly 24.35 hours, or 24 hours and 21 minutes per solar year, or 365.25 days.

Where does the extra time go?

Obviously, this is why we have to reset our clocks every so often, regardless of their accuracy: they are set for a 24 hour cycle, not a 23.934 hour cycle. It's like the Flat Earth theory of knowledge: in the short term, it is easier and more practical to assume that the earth is flat, as it's curvature over short distances is negligible. However, gaps eventually start to form, and the tiniest details become very real as those kilometers (or minutes) begin to stack up.

You might look at Daylight Savings Time and breathe a sigh of existential relief, but any time saved during DST is used up after it ends in October. Also, the International Date Line: cross it in the right direction and you get to live a whole day over again, as you technically land before you took off. Go the other way, and you will completely miss an entire day, as you technically land the day after you take off, even if the flight was only a few hours.

Makes ya think, doesn't it?

Peace,
DJ