Kitchen Table Kibitzing: Leap Seconds Will Take the World Hostage!

Driving home from the rheumatologist this afternoon I was listening to Here and Now out of WBUR in Boston where Robin Young was holding a conversation with Demetrios Matsakis, chief scientist for Time Services at the U.S. Naval Observatory asking the question Should We Abolish The Leap Second?.

Apparently I am not alone in my ignorance of such rare increments of time. Robin and Demetrios made a point to tell listeners that most people don't have any clue about leap seconds, and that lack of awareness has the potential for very serious consequences.

In November, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will meet to decide whether to abolish the tiny leap second. Of course, that change in noon wouldn’t be noticed for about a thousand years, but the ongoing conversation about whether or not we really need the leap second has taken on greater urgency, as we rely on increasingly on computers, which depend on synchronized time to work.

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