Comments on: Darwin and Lincoln: 200 Years Today (or are they?)

By: Andy N

Andy N — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:31:46 +0000

def if day would be Day of the Week, as in Monday or Tuesday.

You got the intent of Comment 3, which was to be of no relevance whatever. Whimsy is a good on its own. I know that is something someone who blogs about whether D and L were born on the same day can appreciate.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:03:59 +0000

Andy,
The point of my post is that they were born on the same DATE, but not necessarily on the same DAY. That moots Comment 2.

Re Comment 1, what definition of DAY would change my analysis?

The intent of Comment 3 is opaque to me. What you say is surely true, but of what relevance to the point of my post?

I agree with Comment 4.

By: Andy N

Andy N — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:00:36 +0000

Steve,
Comment 1. That is only one of the definitions of “day”.
Comment 2. Change “day” to “date”.
Comment 3. If Darwin hadn’t ever been born. It would still be February 12 in
Kentucky.
Comment 4. The interesting thing to me is that two people can be born at the
exact same moment and yet not have the same birthday.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:32:59 +0000

Andy N–
They were not necessarily born on the same DAY. A DAY is defined as one full revolution of the Earth.

Assume Darwin was born at the stroke of midnight (Shrewsbury time) on 2/12. And assume that Lincoln’s birth took place more than 24 hours later, but less than 29 hours later. Abe’s arrival would not have occurred during the same Earth revolution; he would clearly be one DAY younger. But it would still be February 12 in Kentucky.

At the other extreme, if Darwin was born at one moment before 5:00 a.m. (Shrewsbury time) on 2/12, and Lincoln’s birth took place 24 hours and one moment later. Abe’s arrival would also not have occurred during the same Earth revolution; he would clearly be one DAY younger. But similarly, it would still be February 12 in Kentucky.

By: lailani

lailani — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:25:12 +0000

I can barely keep track of what date I was born in 1 time zone! Happy birthday, Abe & Charles.

By: Andy N

Andy N — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:54:36 +0000

They were born on the same day. What date it is (and indeed what hour it is) is locally-determined. Which also interestingly means that there are people who were born at the same moment, but not on the same day.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:43:57 +0000

Definitely hard to know. Even more so since international time zones weren’t standardized until the late 1800s. Hmm, maybe a topic for a future post…? Thanks, Steve, for the informative and inspiring updates!

By: Abi

Abi — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:36:06 +0000

I think my brain just exploded a little.