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From: joel@peora.UUCP (Joel Upchurch)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Counting years
Message-ID: <2292@peora.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 2-Sep-86 11:55:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: peora.2292
Posted: Tue Sep  2 11:55:54 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Sep-86 05:27:20 EDT
References: <593@pyramid.UUCP> <951@hou2g.UUCP>
Organization: Concurrent Computer Corporation, Orlando, Fl
Lines: 42

>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.
>
>Anybody remember this, who can post some more details?  The book
>may have been "The Tragedy of the Moon", but I'm not sure.

        If I recall correctly, what Asimov proposed was  to  have  4
        quarters  of 91 days each, which consisted of 2 months of 30
        days and 1 of 31.  During a regular year there would  be  an
        intercalary  day,  New  Year's day, which wouldn't belong to
        any quarter or week.  During Leap years, Leap day would also
        be an intercalary day.

        The advantage to this scheme, is that each quarter would  be
        exactly  13  weeks  long,  so  that  a particular date would
        always fall on the same day of the week.  Also since all the
        quarters  are  identical,  all you really need is a calendar
        for one quarter, then you could use it forever.

        I think the chances of calendar reform, rank right up  there
        with  decimal  time, i.e., slim and none.  The basic problem
        is that the year isn't a integral number of  days,  and  any
        solution  to  that  is going to be a kludge.  It seems to me
        that the idea of  intercalary  days,  which  every  calendar
        reform  scheme  I've  heard  of uses, creates nearly as many
        problems as it solves.

        The only really elegant solution to the problem would be  to
        move  the earth slightly closer to the sun, so that the year
        is exactly 364 days long.  Of course you could get the  same
        effect  by  slowing  down the Earth's rotation slightly, but
        that would mess up all the clocks. |->
-- 
     Joel Upchurch @ CONCURRENT Computer Corporation (A Perkin-Elmer Company)
     Southern Development Center
     2486 Sand Lake Road/ Orlando, Florida 32809/ (305)850-1031
     {decvax!ucf-cs, ihnp4!pesnta, vax135!petsd, akgua!codas}!peora!joel