To the vast majority of the world who doesn't participate in this odd clock fiddling, 对世界上绝大多数没有参与这奇怪的窜改时间活动的国家来说，

it seems a baffling thing to do. So what's the reason behind it? 这似乎是一件令人困惑的事。所以它背后的原因是什么？

The original idea, proposed by George Hudson, was to give people more sunlight in the summer. 原先的概念，是由George Hudson提出的，为的是要让人们在夏天时享受更多日光。

Of course, it's important to note that changing a clock doesn't actually make more sunlight. 当然，有一点很重要的是，调了时钟实际上不会製造更多阳光。

That's not how physics works. 这不是物理学运作的方式。

But, by moving the clocks forward an hour, compared to all other human activity, 但是，把时钟调快一个钟头，相对于人类的其他活动，

the sun will seem to both rise and set later. 太阳似乎能晚点升起也晚点下山。

The time when the clocks are moved forward is called Daylight Saving Time, 时钟调快的那一个小时叫做“日光节约时间”，

and the rest of the year is called Standard Time. 一年中剩下的时间则叫做“标准时间”。

This switch effectively gives people more time to enjoy the sunshine and nice summer weather after work. 这样的转换有效地让人们下班后能享受更多阳光和宜人的夏日气候。

Hudson, in particular, wanted more sunlight so he could spend more time adding to his insect collection. Hudson特别想要更多阳光，这样他就能有更多时间增加他的昆虫标本收藏。

When winter is coming, the clocks move back, presumably because people don't want to go outside anymore. 当冬天来临，时钟就调回来，推测是因为人们再也不想到外头去了。

But, winter doesn't have this effect on everyone. 但是，冬天不是在每个人身上都有这种效果。

If you live in a tropical place like Hawaii, you really don't have to worry about seasons, 如果你住在像是夏威夷的热带地区，你实在不必担心季节变换，

because they pretty much don't happen. 因为季节变换大多不会发生。

Every day, all year, it's sunny and beautiful, so Christmas is just as good of a day to hit the beach as any other. 整年的每一天，都是晴朗的美好天气，所以圣诞节就像其它日子一样都很适合到海边。

And so, Hawaii is one of two states in the Union that ignore Daylight Saving Time. 所以，夏威夷是美国联邦内无视日光节约时间的两个州之一。

But, the further you travel from the equator in either direction, the more the seasons assert themselves, 但，不论哪个方向，你离赤道越远，四季就越加明显，

and you get colder and darker winters, making summer time much more valuable to the locals. 你的冬天会更寒冷、更阴暗，让夏季光阴对当地人来说更加珍贵。

So it's no surprise that the further a country is from the equator, the more likely it uses Daylight Saving Time. 所以不意外的，距离赤道越远的国家，越有可能会使用日光节约时间。

Hudson proposed his idea in Wellington in 1895, but it wasn't well received, 1895年时Hudson在威灵顿提出了他的想法，但并不受好评，

and it took until 1916 for Germany to be the first country to put it into practice. 直到1916年德国才成为第一个实行的国家。

Though, the uber-industrious Germans were less concerned with catching butterflies on a fine summer evening than they were with saving coal to feed the war machine. 虽然超级勤奋的德国人关心的不是在舒适的夏日午后来抓抓蝴蝶，而是关心要节省煤炭供给战争机器使用。

The Germans thought Daylight Saving Time would conserve energy. 德国人认为日光节约时间可以节省能源。

The reasoning goes that it encourages people to stay out later in the summer and thus use less artificial lighting. 理由是它能鼓励人们在夏天时待在户外久一点，因此能少用人工照明。

This sounds logical, and it may have worked in the more regimented society of a hundred years ago,  这听起来很合逻辑，在一百年前严格管制的社会也许行得通，

but does it still work in the modern world? That turns out to be a surprisingly difficult question to answer. 但它在现代世界也可行吗？结果很意外地是个很难回答的问题。

For example, take mankind's greatest invention: Air Conditioning. 拿人类最伟大的发明：冷气作为例子。

The magic box of cool that makes otherwise uninhabitable sections of the world quite tolerable places to live. 这个神奇的凉爽盒子让世界上一些若无冷气不宜居住的区域变成蛮适合居住的所在。

But, pumping heat out of your house isn't cheap, 但是，将热气从家里抽出并不便宜，

and turning on one air conditioner is the same as running dozens of Tungsten light bulbs. 而且打开一台冷气机等同于使用数打钨丝灯泡。

If people get more sunshine, but don't use it to go outside, 如果人们有更多阳光，却不出门使用，

then Daylight Saving Time might actually cost electricity, not save it. 日光节约时间实际上可能会耗费电力，而不是节省。

This is particularly true in a place like Phoenix, 这在像是凤凰城的地方特别正确，

where the Average Summer High is a hundred and seven degrees, 那里平均夏日高温是华氏一百零七度(约摄氏四十一度)，

and the record is a hundred and twenty-two. 最高记录是一百二十二度(约摄氏五十度)。

If you suggest to an Arizonian to change their clocks in the summer to get more sunshine, 如果你建议一名亚利桑那州居民在夏天调时钟来得到更多阳光，

they'll laugh in your face. Sun and higher electricity bills are not what they want, 他们会当着你的面大笑。太阳和更贵的电费帐单不是他们想要的，

which is why Arizona is the second state that never changes their clocks. 这也是为什么亚利桑那州是第二个从未调整时钟的州。

Another problem with trying to study Daylight Saving Time is rapid changes in technology and electrical use. 另一个试着研究日光节约时间的问题是科技和用电的急剧变化。

As technology gets better and better and better, more electricity is dedicated to things that aren't light bulbs. 科技进步、进步、再进步，越来越多的电力就用在不是灯泡的东西上。

And the lure of a hot, sweaty, mosquito-filled day outside is less appealing than technological entertainments and climate-controlled comfort inside. 而室外炎热、汗流浃背、充满蚊子的白昼魅力，可不比科技娱乐以及空调舒适的室内来的有吸引力。

Also the horrifically energy inefficient Tungsten light bulbs that have remained unchanged for a century are giving way to CFLs and LEDs, 还有已经留存一世纪没有变化、能源效能奇低的钨丝灯泡，正让路给CFL和LED节能灯，

greatly reducing the amount of energy required to light a room. 大大地减少需要照亮一间房的能源量。

So, even assuming that Daylight Saving Time is effective, it's probably less effective with every passing year. 所以，即便假设日光节约时间是有效的，可能每过一年效果就会差一点。

The bottom line is while some studies say DST costs more electricity, 最后的结果是，虽然有些研究表示日光节约时间耗费更多电力，

and others say it saves electricity, the one thing they agree on is the effect size: 有些则说节省电力，他们都同意的一件事是效果大小：

not twenty percent or ten percent but one percent or less, 不是百分之二十也不是百分之十，而是百分之一甚至更少，

which, in the United States, works out to be about four dollars per household. 在美国，结果每户约是四美元。

Four dollars saved or spent on electricity over an entire year is not really a huge deal either way. 一整年省下或是多付四美元的电费不管怎样实在都不是一件大事。

So the question now becomes: is the hassle of switching the clocks twice a year worth it? 所以现在问题变成：一年调两次时钟这麻烦值得吗？

The most obvious trouble comes from sleep deprivation, 最明显的麻烦来自于睡眠剥夺，

an already too common reflection in the western world that DST makes measurably worse. 一个西方世界已经非常普遍的反思，日光节约时间让它更加糟糕。

With time-tracking software we can actually see that people are less productive the week after the clock changes. 透过时间追踪软体，我们可以实际看到人们在调完时钟后的那个礼拜是比较没生产力的。

This comes with huge associated costs. 这带来了巨大的相关成本。

To make things worse, most countries take away that hour of sleep on a Monday morning. 让情况更糟的是，大部分国家带走了星期一早上一小时的睡眠时间。

Sleep deprivation can lead to heart attacks and suicides, 睡眠剥夺可能会导致心脏病和自杀，

and the Daylight Saving Time Monday has a higher than normal spike in both. 而在日光节约时间内的周一，两者发生的机会都比平常更高。

Other troubles come from scheduling meetings across time zones. 其他麻烦则来自于跨时区会议的时间安排。

Let's say that you're trying to plan a three-way conference between New York, London and Sydney, 比方说你试着要在纽约、伦敦和悉尼间安排一场三方会议，

not an easy thing to do under the best of circumstances, 在最佳的情况之下也不是件容易做的事，

but made extra difficult when they don't agree on when Daylight Saving Time should start and end. 但当他们在日光节约时间应该何时开始和结束没有取得一致，就变得格外困难了。

In the spring, Sydney is eleven hours ahead of London, and New York is five hours behind. 在春天，悉尼比伦敦快十一个小时，而纽约慢五个小时。

But then New York is the first to enter Daylight Saving Time and moves its clock forward an hour. 但接着纽约是第一个进入日光节约时间，并把时钟调快一小时的。

Two weeks later London does the same. 两周后伦敦做了相同的事。

In one more week, Sydney, being on the opposite side of the world, 再过一周，悉尼，在世界的另外一端，

leaves Daylight Saving Time and moves its clock back an hour. 离开日光节约时间，并将时钟调慢一小时。

So in the space of three weeks, New York is five hours behind London, then four hours and then five hours again. 所以在这三周的时间，纽约比伦敦晚了五小时，然后晚四小时，又再次晚五小时。

And Sydney is either eleven, ten or nine hours from London, 而悉尼要不就是比伦敦早了十一、十、或九个小时，

and sixteen, fifteen or fourteen hours from New York. 要不就是早纽约十六、十五或十四小时。

And this whole crazy thing happens again in reverse six months later. 这整件疯狂的事在六个月之后又会反转过来再次发生。

Back in the dark ages, this might not have mattered so much, 如果回到黑暗时期，这可能不是那么重要，

but in the modern, interconnected world, planning international meetings happens thousands and thousands of times daily. 但在现代相互连结的世界，国际会议的安排每天都会发生几千次。

Shifting and inconsistent time zones isn't doing Netizens any favors. 持续变换、不一致的时区不会帮上网友们任何忙。

And, countries aren't even consistent about Daylight Saving Time within their own borders. 而且，许多国家在自己境内甚至也没有就日光节约时间取得一致。

Brazil has Daylight Saving Time, but only if you live in the south. 巴西使用日光节约时间，但只有你住在南部才会用到。

Canada has it too, but not Saskatchewan. 加拿大也有，但Saskatchewan省没有。

Most of Oz does DST, but not Western Australia, The Northern Territory or Queensland. 大部分的澳洲人使用日光节约时间，但西澳、北领地或昆士兰则没有。

And, of course, the United States does have Daylight Saving Time, 还有，当然，美国的确有使用日光节约时间，

unless you live in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands or... 除非你住在波多黎各、维京群岛、美属萨摩亚、关岛、北马利安纳群岛，或是...

as mentioned before, Hawaii and Arizona. But Arizona isn't even consistent within itself. 先前提过的，夏威夷和亚利桑那州。但亚利桑那州自己境内也不一致。

While Arizona ignores Daylight Saving Time, the Navaho Nation inside of Arizona follows it. 虽然亚利桑那州无视日光节约时间，但境内的Navaho Nation却遵循着它。

Inside of the Navaho Nation is the Hopi Reservation, 而Navaho Nation内的Hopi原住民保留区，

which like Arizona, ignores daylight saving time. 就像亚利桑那州一样无视日光节约时间。

Going deeper, inside of the Hopi Reservation is another part of the Navaho Nation, which does follow Daylight Saving Time. 更深入点，在Hopi 保留区里有Navaho Nation的另一部分，遵循日光节约时间。

And finally, there is also part of the Hopi Reservation elsewhere in the Navaho Nation which doesn't. 最后，在Navaho Nation内另外一部分的Hopi保留区则没有遵循它。

So driving across this hundred-mile stretch would technically necessitate seven clock changes, which is insane. 所以开车开过这绵延百里的土地，技术上会需要七次时间变换，这很疯狂。

While this is an unusual local oddity, 尽管这是个不正常的当地怪事，

here is a map showing the different daylight saving and time zone rules in all their complicated glory. 这是一张地图，从他们繁复的丰功伟业之中，展示出不同的日光节约和时区规范。

It's a huge mess, and constantly needs updating as countries change their laws. 这真是乱七八糟，当国家修改法律时也需要持续更新。

Which is why it shouldn't be surprising that even our digital gadgets can't keep the time straight occasionally. 这就是为什么不意外的，甚至连我们的数位小工具有时也跟不上时间变换。

So to review: Daylight Saving Time gives more sunlight in the summer after work, 所以来复习一下：日光节约时间在夏天下班后给你更多阳光，

which depending on where you live, might be in advantage or not. 要看你住在哪里，可能是好处也可能不是。

And it may or may not save electricity. 可能也可能不会节省能源。

But one thing is for sure: it's guaranteed to make something that should be simple, keeping track of time, quite complicated, 但有件事是确定的：它必定将原本应该要简单、能掌握时间的事情变得相当复杂，

which is why when it comes time to change the clocks, 这就是为什么当要调整时钟的时候，

there's always a debate about whether or not we should. 总是有我们该不该这么做的争论。