Re: [LEAPSECS] religious concerns

From: Rob Seaman <seaman_at_noao.edu>
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2003 08:46:16 -0700 (MST)

> It seems, the true quarrel of this particular community is more with
> the Earth not being flat any more

Well, I tend to agree.

> (as it obviously was when the Old Testament was written) ...

The Greeks (at least, some Greeks :-) were well aware of the shape of
the Earth, of course, if not its precise "context" in the universe.
Others of the ancients (and the moderns, for that matter) were indeed
less well-informed, or at least, less curious than the Greeks.

The lack of a scientific world view, however, does not invalidate a
stakeholder's concerns about public policy decisions. Observing the
proper Sabbath (or the equivalent in other religions) is deeply
important to billions of our fellow humans (likely including several
on this list). It may not be possible for any public policy to satisfy
everybody, but that is not an argument for trampling blindly over such
stakeholders' concerns. Rather, it seems to this observer, it is an
argument for even more careful attention to getting the details right.

If any initiative to replace time-of-day with interval time as the basis
for worldwide civil time is to succeed, public advice and consent - in
addition to public education on a grand scale - will be required.

Rob Seaman
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Received on Sat Jul 12 2003 - 08:46:28 PDT