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Unix Time and a Modest Proposal


Why Unix time is not exactly what it is often described to be, and a proposal for fixing it.

In 1972 we started adding leap seconds in order to synchronize the day and the year more precisely. What if you wanted a time system based on the actual number of elapsed seconds since the epoch? There is a third way that deserves more consideration: adjust the position of the earth periodically to keep the solar year equal to an average Gregorian calendar day.

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UTC, Tai, and Unix Time (2001)