Much of daily life runs on decisions made long ago, for reasons that may no longer apply. Nobody asked whether they still make sense. We are asking.
The question. If we were designing this system from scratch today, would we really design it this way? We put it to things everyone uses and nobody chose: the clock first, then the calendar.
The method. Every proposal starts from a blank page and is argued on its merits, in full, with the seriousness normally kept for government policy.
The honesty. Every proposal carries its own case against. Sometimes the inherited way is better, or the cost of change too high. We will say so.
The status. A proposed satirical political party. Not a registered political party. A public project for now, beginning with a website and a set of policies. It does not assume it will ever contest an election.
Three bases, one day
Hours count to twenty-four, minutes and seconds to sixty. Decimal time keeps the day and drops the arithmetic.
Inherited
24 hours of 60 minutes of 60 seconds. Three numbers for one day.
One day
The day itself never changes: 86,400 seconds, midnight to midnight.
Decimal
10 hours of 100 minutes, and no seconds on the clock. Each square here is one per cent of the day.
Right now it is
–:––
decimal time, or ––:–– by the old clock. The first digit is tenths of the day; the next two are hundredths and thousandths.
5:00 decimal is 12:00, 50.0% of the day.
The Preservation of the Second
“The second will remain exactly as long as it has always been. It has always done good, clean work. We see no reason to interfere with it.”
Official statement of the About Time Party. The clock would divide the day differently. The SI second, which science, sport and computing depend on, stays exactly as it is.
We’ve done this before.
New Zealand used to count money in pounds, shillings and pence. Twelve pennies to a shilling. Twenty shillings to a pound.
Then we changed it.
But our clocks still divide the day into 24 hours, each containing 60 minutes.
We think it’s reasonable to ask why.
We aren’t proposing to change the length of a second. We’re simply suggesting that perhaps it’s time to finish the job.
A generation learns a new system. Every generation afterwards inherits the benefits.
Changing the world’s clocks would be far harder than changing one country’s money. We don’t pretend otherwise. The full argument
Thirteen equal months
28
days in every month of every year
- 13 months of exactly 28 days, four weeks each
- 364 regular days a year
- Then Limbo: one day at the end of the year, with no date, weekday or month
- A second Limbo day in leap years
Your birthday falls on the same weekday every year, as does every public holiday. Unless you were born during Limbo, in which case you shall remain in Limbo.
Today would be –.
Thirteen months do not divide into quarters, which business and government reporting rely on.
What day is it? It isn’t.
After the last day of Month 13 comes Limbo: one day, two in leap years. Limbo days have no date, no weekday and no month. They do not officially exist.
You may celebrate, rest, travel, do nothing, or decline invitations without explanation. Businesses may open or close. The legal and employment arrangements are still being worked out.
The months need names
The names and order of the months will go to public consultation. Three approaches are on the table.
- A. Familiar. Keep January to December in the usual order and add a thirteenth month at the beginning or the end.
- B. Restored. Rearrange the months so September, October, November and December are once again the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th, and add a new month.
- C. New. Create entirely new names, or a mixture of old and new.
Germinal is the provisional name for the new month. It comes from the French Republican Calendar, where it was the seventh month. Nothing is decided and no votes are being collected yet.
The Daylight Question
The sun is not required to change its schedule. Why are we?
The sun has maintained a remarkably consistent approach to daylight. The About Time Party sees no compelling reason to involve it in administrative arrangements.
Why do we change our clocks when what we really want to change is how we use daylight? All three options below end seasonal clock changes.
- Working hours
- 9am–5pm
- Daylight before work
- 1 h 15 min (0.52 decimal h)
- Daylight after work
- none (0.00 decimal h)
Civil time stays fixed all year, and so do working hours. No clock changes and no coordinated schedule changes.
Daylight (illustrative) Working hours. Times are conventional standard time, roughly those of a central New Zealand city at midwinter and midsummer. The clock itself never changes.
- None of these creates more daylight. They change how working and leisure hours sit against the solar day.
- Earlier schedules can mean darker mornings. The effects differ by season, place and working arrangement.
- Times are illustrative, in conventional standard time. One conventional hour is about 0.4167 decimal hours.
- The size of the shift, whether it would be voluntary or required, and how it would work are all undecided. The party has not chosen an option.
Where we may be wrong
Every policy we publish carries its own case against. These are the strongest we know of so far.
Decimal Civil Time
- A decimal minute is 86.4 seconds, an awkward number for anyone who counts in seconds. A three-minute egg becomes about 2.08 decimal minutes.
- Every clock, timetable and contract in the country would need converting, and the rest of the world would carry on as before.
- Familiarity has real value. Sixty divides by more numbers than a hundred does.
Calendar Reform
- The rest of the world would still use the Gregorian calendar, so every international date would need translating.
- Limbo sits outside the week, which breaks the continuous seven-day cycle many religious observances depend on.
- Thirteen months do not divide into quarters, which business and government reporting rely on.
Isn’t it time?
The manifesto sets out why About Time exists and how we decide what to question next.
Read the manifesto