eli5 Why do we have different time zones around the world, and how do they work?
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So people have explained the scientific reason, but something a lot of people often bring up is “Why not just abolish them and have 1 standard time?”. Well, because it wouldn’t help.
You and someone in another country set up a meeting for 11am. Great, that’s easy, everyone has the same 11am. Oh, except for them, 11am is the middle of the night.
Because, you see, people would still have to live according to the sun. We can’t suddenly become nocturnal. So while everyone would use the same numbers, they’d have to shift their days to match.
Imagine you get off a plane in a foreign country. It’s dark out. Okay, but is it the evening, or is it early morning? You check the clock. 11am. Okay…still not helpful, since you have no idea what time of day this country’s 11am is. So is it early morning, or maybe early evening? You have no way of knowing.
Also, for people on a certain side of the world, this would mean 12am, midnight, now comes in the middle of the daytime. So you’d leave for work one day, come home the next day. Which would make things very confusing. If you’ve got a meeting “tomorrow”, does it mean the next work day, or this afternoon?
Time zones serve a very important purpose. They help us understand the world around us.
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