This month I want to highlight a video, The Problem with Time & Timezones, by Tom Scott on the Computerphile YouTube channel. This video is 10 years old, and a fun descent into madness explaining how programmers might deal with the complexities of earth’s time zones. The reason this video is relevant once again is because NASA has been asked to create a new lunar time standard: Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)

LTC is an important step for humanity to navigate communication across space. Time flows at different rates on different celestial bodies, and the concept of day/night is planet-specific. Since humanity appears to be barreling towards interstellar travel and communication, time differences will once again be an important problem to address.

“…what you learn after dealing with time zones is that…you look at the people who have been there before you…the people who have built the spaghetti code…and you thank them very much for making it open source…and you take what they have made and put it in your program, and you never ever look at it again, because that way lies madness.”