Time is gold sabi nga nila so today, we’ll find out if that is true.

Good day, everyone! I am Germainne Ferreras. I will be discussing the clock and Gregorian
calendar for today.

By principle, a clock is a device that displays time. We can credit the division of hour into 60
minutes and of the minute into 60 seconds to ancient Sumeria. While the all-mechanical
escapement clock’s origin is unknown, what we can propose is that first devices started in
monasteries using the weight-driven clocks that rely on gravity found in towers known as turret
clocks.

By definition, there are various types such as the pendulum that relies on weight, an
escapement which includes a mechanism for controlled motion, a wheelwork which involves
numerous gears, electrical that uses electricity and the most famous is the use of quartz crystal.
Lastly, there is an atomic clock that is based on atoms’ energy levels which displays one of the
most accurate time and only loses 1 second every 138 million years.

With regards to application, the clock allows us to know which hour, minute, or seconds of the
day we are in. It can be applied in almost every aspect of our lives.

The clock introduced the concepts of punctuality and productivity. It ensures well-scheduled
patient care, medication, and operations as well as accurate medical records in healthcare,
next, it ensures smooth and efficient production in manufacturing, it also allows us to structure
learning in education and discipline us (baka nga pwede rin natin sisihin ang clock pag tight
schedule natin sa crs). Clocks also help us make sure we arrive and leave on time, and it also
helps the government to keep public trust and confidence through having efficient and
time-sensitive services.

Despite all these advantages, the clock’s quality may degrade which may cause inaccuracies
with time. For instance, pendelum clocks and quartz oscilators may accumulate error over time
due to temperature changes. Sabi nila, the pendulum gets longer when it's hotter and since its
length determines the speed of the clock, there may be an accuracy problem kaya we prefer
atomic clocks.

Additionally, The way we position ourselves with it, also affects our physical and mental health.
According to one estimate, we check our phones every six minutes, or 150 times a day to check
the clock. Deadlines and packing our day in tight timelines causes stress, fatigue, and overall
decrease in performance.

Now, the Gregorian Calendar is created through the leadership of Pope Gregory XIII and help of
physician Aloysius and astronomer Christopher to replace the Julian Calendar. Up until now, it is
what the majority of the countries use.
This tool allows us to navigate seasons, months, days, and special events. 168 countries use it
and some have their own calendars for religious or national reasons such as in Islamic
countrieswhere they need to follow a calendar in sync with their devotions. It defines an average
year as 365.2425 days long which has a bit of discrepancy to the solar year which is 365.24219.
Now, Pope Gregory proposed for the changing of the calendar since the Julian Calendar
miscalculated the solar year by 11 minutes which means that the seasons are not in sync with
the calendar, magfafall behind ang Easter.

It has brought various impacts in society. It allowed the consistent celebration of Easter for
Christians, it became a framework for timekeeping and scheduling that is connected with better
international relations as we now have aligned date and times for global communication, travel
planning, and coordination. Lastly, it also allows us to have cultural influences on special days
such as Velentine’s day, Halloween, Christmas etc.

On the other hand, we saw that there are discrepancies between the solar year and Gregorian
calendar. This makes us advance 26 seconds every year. By the time we reach 4909, we are a
full day ahead. Next, there was a resistance from Protestant countries since they thought of this
as a Christian propaganda, hence, there was a misalignment in time for a short while. Lastly,
there is a double date problem due to the changing of calendar. So we indicate the same dates
with the codes OS and NS. Old system to indicate dates before the shift and the new system for
dates after the shift to the Gregorian calendar.

From all the learnings from the clock and Gregorian calendar, I came to various realizations.

First, I saw how major societal developments may be scary such as in the Gregorian Calendar.
Sinong hindi matatakot na matutulog ka ng October 4, magigising ka ng October 15? Although
scary, this is important para mas maging aligned tayo with the seasons and solar year. Next, we
must give importance to time. Given that we have clocks and calendars where we plot important
dates and seasons and we are able to schedule for more efficient work, this shall push us to
plan ahead and look for contingencies. As real-life applications relating to science, technology,
and society, we already have a pattern on where typhoons may hit. In the Philippine context, this
shall push our government agencies to plan everything ahead such as the rescue boats,
evacuation sites, and supply of goods. With regards to time, this should push us to work
efficiently and in a time-sensitive manner such as when COVID-19 arrived. Nagspread siya lalo
dahil sa lack ng sense of urgency in vaccination rollouts and other initiatives. Clocks should
have helped us schedule better.

Lastly, relax, if you think you are behind, technically you are not, we are advanced by a couple
of milliseconds per day.