The endurance of many cultural relics baffle me, the imperial system of measurement, the vast varieties of racism and sexism - Ugg boots, just to name a few. Today is daylight savings. I gave daylight savings a half hearted googling to see what all the fuss was about and I was overwhelmed with lack of interest. It was invented by some english guy so that people could have more time in summer afternoons, though this origin story is disputed all over the place. I found origin stories dating back to before there were even clocks and some as recent as the depression - truth is - I don't care. No one really does. Daylight Savings is just one of those things we do because, well... we just do it is all.
What is really the benefit of Daylight Savings? I turned up some compelling arguments for it and against it. Studies have revealed there are fewer automobile accidents in the long afternoon, though there is a spike in careless driving at the time of the actual change. It has also been hinted that the result of it being lighter, later, is reduced energy consumption. I don't lend a lot of credence to these studies, studying the effect of daylight savings in not a well honed science, nor does it have much bearing on the decision to change the clocks or not. We would still do it no matter what anyone says because, well... we just do it.
To be clear, I am suggesting that fiddling with the clocks is wholly unnecessary. Surely there is some equitable median that would allow us to have a single time, all year long, without the need to upset the clocks. For example, how about setting them to the half hour in between and leave it at that? Why have just long afternoons in the summer? Why set them ahead again at all?
Moral: Its not good to further a tradition without examination. Read "the Lottery" by Shirley Jackson for clarification.
