Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!lll-crg!lll-lcc!unisoft!mtxinu!rtech!bobm From: bobm@rtech.UUCP (Bob Mcqueer) Newsgroups: net.misc Subject: Re: Counting years Message-ID: <430@rtech.UUCP> Date: Mon, 1-Sep-86 13:45:50 EDT Article-I.D.: rtech.430 Posted: Mon Sep 1 13:45:50 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 3-Sep-86 04:03:42 EDT References: <951@hou2g.UUCP> Organization: Relational Technology Inc, Alameda CA Lines: 43 Actually, today is PP, 25 Bcy., 3152 > > I remember reading a book of essays by Isaac Asimov in which > he proposed a new calendar. I don't remember the details, but > it seemed very logical (if unconventional). I believe it had > the virtues of not having to account for "leap" years, and each > date fell on the same day of the week each year. It had something > like an 80 day month, and I think the "week" may not have had > 7 days. > I'm pretty sure I'm not thinking of the same one, but I remember a similar "calendar reform" proposal many years ago. I really don't see how you're going to avoid something like leap year if you want a given date to sync up with the physical seasons across centuries. However, you can arrange things to get dates and days to be consistent. I believe the one I remember kept the 7 day week, but took a one day "year end" day out which was not counted as any day of the week at all, so that the remaining 364 days would be 52 even weeks. On leap years, you simply had two "year end" days. The month names were retained, and the days divvied up among them logically, I believe. I do remember that there were 4 Friday the 13th's every year using the system. Trouble is, even if you don't pay attention to leap years, the Earth didn't oblige us with a very convenient number of days in the year. 5 and 73 are the only factors. You CAN have a cycle of five 73 day months, with 5 days per week and have things work out (like I said, it's really 25 Bcy.) Of course, this is all idle speculation, as such proposals stand about the same chance of being carried out as mass spelling reform or conversion to a duodecimal numbering system. One more thing. I'm in no way sure of my facts on this, but I remember hearing that the ancient Babylonians used a base 60 number system, and insisted that there were 360 days in the year, making for a very neat calender. I'm not sure I believe this, since 5 days of drift a year would get things noticably out of whack in one generation. Bob McQueer -- {amdahl, sun, mtxinu, hoptoad, cpsc6a}!rtech!bobm