What Time Is It, Anyway? Here’s How the World Decides What Time It Is

Time as we know it started on October 22, 1884.
Derya Ozdemir

Our relationship with time has become an essential part of the human experience, yet our conception of time is dependent on the way we measure it. For example, high-precision timekeeping sensors now serve as the heartbeat for the vast majority of our electronic devices: nearly all computers are equipped with a quartz-crystal clock that regulates the operation of the device after all. This wasn't always the case, as Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, among others, devised sundials, water clocks, and other early chronometric devices for the purpose of keeping track of time.

However, who, exactly, is in charge of determining what time it is today? How do we maintain the entire world running in perfect harmony? Do all countries interact with one another in order to synchronize time?