Quantum Physics Made Easy

     Has your inner clock adjusted to Daylight Savings Time yet? Russia, apparently, is abolishing the time change and I say “good for them!” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently announced, "I decided to cancel the shift to winter time, starting from this autumn." Medvedev said the shift in time "may lead to stress and illnesses."

     It’s the one thing Saskatchewan has got right, as far as I’m concerned. Not that it’s a big enough deal breaker for me to move to Saskatchewan. Or to Russia. But really, what is Daylight Savings Time supposed to accomplish? When told the reason, the story goes, an old Native American said, “Only the government would believe you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”

The common thinking is Daylight Savings Time saves energy. I’m not sure whose, but I’m pretty sure it’s not mine.

     Moreover, I think it’s downright dangerous. According to Mary Carole McCauley’s March 7, 2012 article in The Baltimore Sun, the annual spring time change causes more car crashes, a higher risk of heart attack, and an increase in the number and severity of workplace accidents—based on statistics during the week following the time change. Turning the clocks back in the fall, however, causes no such tragedies because we’ve all had extra rest.

     If we’re going to mess around with time, why not go all the way? We’re obviously fascinated by the idea of time travel. From books like C. S. Lewis’  Chronicles of Narnia to Steven King’s latest, 11/23/63 (where a man goes back to prevent the assassination of JFK); to movies like Back to the Future and The Time Traveler’s Wife; to TV shows like Being Erica. And who remembers It’s About Time from back in the 1960’s when two astronauts landed their space craft among stone age cavemen?

     Wonderful, now I have the theme song stuck in my head.

     With all this interest in quantum leaping, I figure if we can turn the clocks back an hour each fall, why not turn them back in the spring, too? In fact, why not turn them back once a month? Yes, I realize it would mean living in darkness awhile, but hear me out. After two years, we’d have moved back a whole day. After 183 years, we’d be back a whole year. Eventually we’d be back to the good old days when the only thing to fear was famine and marauding Vikings.

     If you detect a flaw in my calculations, blame it on sleep deprivation.

     Not that anybody asked me, but I think we could get along quite nicely without Daylight Savings Time.

     Then again, you won’t hear me complaining a bit when it’s time to fall back and we all enjoy that lovely “extra” hour.

     Call me fickle. At least I’ve got Quantum Physics nailed.