What time is it?

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And he decreed that January first shall be the start of the year. Our lives shall be measured in 60-minute intervals and each minute shall also be composed of 60 intervals named seconds. Or so I once believed.

As I matured, I began to question my faith. When I learned that March 21 was the start of the year until 1582 I was deeply troubled. If the start of the year can be changed maybe I should question other things that I thought were built into the fabric of the universe.

Hours are divided into 60 minutes, which are also divided into 60 seconds. What could be more natural? Perhaps 100 seconds in a minute and 100 minutes in an hour. We use 60 because the ancient Babylonians did. Apparently, they would count to 60 on their hands. If you point to each knuckle on your left hand with your left thumb and hold up one finger on your right hand each time you get to 12 you get to 60 before you run out of fingers. This is one explanation of why we have 60-minute hours.

The World Calendar Association has proposed several calendar reforms. They run into troubles because different people use the current calendar system for different purposes. Businesses like calendars that are consistent with the first of the year always being a Monday and each three-month period having the same number of days. Individuals want holidays to be grouped into the weekends. People who are concerned with historical events such as religious holidays want the calendar to stay as it is.

People with strong beliefs either never question what they are taught, willingly accepting everything with childlike faith or they have a deep understanding of what they believe. If you are managing a business or your life, it is better to question everything. The more you understand how things work the easier it will be for you to make changes or adapt to systems that are already in place.

Systems are designed to organize some aspect of the world. Life is complicated and system designers are not all knowing. No system can satisfy everyone. The most common reason systems fail is they are being used for the wrong purpose. The second most common reason is that people don't follow the system. This is closely related to the first. If people don't know the purpose of filling out the paperwork, they will make mistakes or ignore it completely.

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