Post AvpTItts5UR1Krn7OC by bsdphk@fosstodon.org
 (DIR) More posts by bsdphk@fosstodon.org
 (DIR) Post #Avo1LnYt7PE0fgbsO0 by lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me
       2025-07-05T00:03:06.935794Z
       
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       @dalias @simon_brooke @vashti Yeah, possible to math it out, in 128 bits there's enough for say 2^64 humans (we're at roughly 2×(2^32), so nowhere close), each doing whatever kind of interaction within 2^64 which can be one per second and IIRC that largely contains big bang to heat death of universe.
       
 (DIR) Post #AvpTIiCvYoY14UcAQS by simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
       2025-07-04T19:48:54Z
       
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       @catgirlQueer @vashti As I myself wrote, years ago,"At nanosecond resolution (if I've done my arithmetic right), 128 bits will represent a span of 1 x 10²² years, or much longer than from the big bang to the estimated date of fuel exhaustion of all stars. So I think I'll arbitrarily set an epoch 14Bn years before the UNIX epoch and go with that. The time will be unsigned - there is no time before the big bang."So, yes, if you're content with nanosecond resolution...https://github.com/simon-brooke/post-scarcity/wiki/cons-space#time
       
 (DIR) Post #AvpTIjmPiMWlwqE1NQ by bsdphk@fosstodon.org
       2025-07-05T08:47:15Z
       
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       @simon_brooke @catgirlQueer @vashti Fun fact:Until 1972-01-01Z we used rubber-time, because astrometry is not nearly as constant as most people seem to think.But it is worse than that.We literally have no idea how long nanoseconds took before 1958-01-01ZIf you go back before observations of solar eclipses, we even barely know how long days took.Any epoch before 1972-01-01Z by defintion causes wrong timekeeping.
       
 (DIR) Post #AvpTIl7Mjwsi672Gfo by bsdphk@fosstodon.org
       2025-07-05T08:51:02Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @simon_brooke @catgirlQueer @vashti Also:Until we ditch leap-seconds, we cannot predict how many seconds there will be until some timestamp in the future, since that depends on what the director of the Paris Observatory decides twice a year.And on top of that, time-zones are political decisions, so even without leap-seconds, it is anyone's guess how long time there is to 2026-01-01 09:00 in Mississippi.
       
 (DIR) Post #AvpTIp3y4WXYKjTbvs by bsdphk@fosstodon.org
       2025-07-05T08:53:23Z
       
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       @simon_brooke @catgirlQueer @vashti So there is no "fix it once and for all" solution to timekeeping, and the best and most robust strategy will always be store timestamps the way the user provided them, and interpret them as best you can, given the knowledge available to you, when you do.
       
 (DIR) Post #AvpTItts5UR1Krn7OC by bsdphk@fosstodon.org
       2025-07-05T08:54:54Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @simon_brooke @catgirlQueer @vashti And as for nanosecond resolution:  Now you also need to think about which relativistic reference frame to use.