Journal Timex's Journal: New meaning for "GMT"? 11
Construction is underway for a huge clock in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is expected (according to the article) to enter a trial period the first week of Ramadan, on (or about?) August 12. That's tomorrow, for those of you keeping track.
The article discusses the mindset of some that Mecca is the "true" global meridian, that Greenwich time was imposed on the world by Westerners.
Would something like this cause some people to redefine "GMT" to mean "Grand Mosque Time", instead of "Greenwich Mean Time"? Would it be any worse than the interest of others in making Paris, France the prime meridian?
Personally, I think the argument in the first article that "the Greenwich standard was imposed by the west in 1884" is ridiculous. True, the Prime Meridian is purely arbitrary, but it was accepted as the standard at a time when Britain was the world power. Then, as now, the muslim world is (largely) still stuck more than a thousand years in the past. Shy of using force, the muslims haven't had a lot of influence in the world.[1]
UTC (aka GMT[2]) is just fine where it is, thanks.
~~~~~
[1] Islam spread through war since its inception around AD630. The modern world has libraries, Algebra, coffee, and several other things or ideas that originated with the Arabs, true, but whether or not we would have them today were it not for their warring tendencies, we may never know.
[2] As the link to UTC indicates, the difference between UTC and GMT, in a casual use, is virtually non-existent.
The article discusses the mindset of some that Mecca is the "true" global meridian, that Greenwich time was imposed on the world by Westerners.
Would something like this cause some people to redefine "GMT" to mean "Grand Mosque Time", instead of "Greenwich Mean Time"? Would it be any worse than the interest of others in making Paris, France the prime meridian?
Personally, I think the argument in the first article that "the Greenwich standard was imposed by the west in 1884" is ridiculous. True, the Prime Meridian is purely arbitrary, but it was accepted as the standard at a time when Britain was the world power. Then, as now, the muslim world is (largely) still stuck more than a thousand years in the past. Shy of using force, the muslims haven't had a lot of influence in the world.[1]
UTC (aka GMT[2]) is just fine where it is, thanks.
~~~~~
[1] Islam spread through war since its inception around AD630. The modern world has libraries, Algebra, coffee, and several other things or ideas that originated with the Arabs, true, but whether or not we would have them today were it not for their warring tendencies, we may never know.
[2] As the link to UTC indicates, the difference between UTC and GMT, in a casual use, is virtually non-existent.
Umm. (Score:2)
They use a whole different calendar, and you find it odd they want to use a different clock too?
It doesn't strike me as any stupider than Daylight Savings Time. Ultimately it'll either make for a new set of UTC timezone offset files, or fail entirely. Neither is much of a big deal.
Re: (Score:2)
They use a whole different calendar, and you find it odd they want to use a different clock too?
Actually, I'm coming closer and closer to the opinion that what muslims do in the world is less about their religion and more about politics, which makes it more about "power", and it just goes downhill from there.
It doesn't strike me as any stupider than Daylight Savings Time.
I agree with you about DST, though: it may have served a purpose when ours was a more agricultural society, but now, it barely matters.
Ultimately it'll either make for a new set of UTC timezone offset files, or fail entirely. Neither is much of a big deal.
Actually, I think it's enough of an inconvenience (even if it is "minor") that it won't gain any traction. Muslim supremacy, to me, is the exact same thing as som
Re: (Score:2)
"Actually, I'm coming closer and closer to the opinion that what muslims do in the world is less about their religion and more about politics"
Hallelujah! Or Allahu akbar, or something.
Yes, you see the light. What we're in is a political clash in which religion (and jihad) are tools, not the root cause.
Re: (Score:1)
Politics is also merely a tool. The desire for power is psychological, or more correctly, actually instinctive. And radical, fanatical fundamentalism of all types is not a good thing, anywhere, Christian, Judaism, or Muslim, democrat, republican, libertarian, etc. The one that is not yours is always the evil one.
Re: (Score:2)
Politics is also merely a tool. The desire for power is psychological, or more correctly, actually instinctive. And radical, fanatical fundamentalism of all types is not a good thing, anywhere, Christian, Judaism, or Muslim, democrat, republican, libertarian, etc. The one that is not yours is always the evil one.
I'll agree with this with the modification that the last line read "The one that is diametrically opposed to yours is always the evil one."... there may be some that don't completely agree with one's own world view that may be considered "mislead" or "partly right", but Teh Eb1L Ones are certainly those who completely disagree on [insert point here].
Almost all advances are due to war (Score:2)
It has nothing to do with being arab, or muslim, or any other status. Let's be honest - Time Magazine picked Einstein as the "Person of the Century", but Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, and Eisenhower all had WAY more influence on events in the 20th century than Einstein did.
If it weren't for WW2 an the cold war that followed, we wouldn't have had the space race, smaller electronics, the innert00bs, lots of advances in medicine, etc.
Zulu, bitches (Score:2)
It wouldn't be the first time... (Score:1)
It wouldn't be the first time. BC has been changed to BCE and academic circles.
The Prime Direct... er Meridian (Score:1)
belongs on the International Dateline. It doesn't need to zigzag or anything. Just a convenient way to start the new day at 0. That would make it a little less "arbitrary".
Wherever I am is the Prime Time, bitches (Score:1)