To the vast majority of the world who doesn't participate in this odd clock fiddling – it seems a baffling thing to do.

對於世界上絕大多數不參與這種奇怪的時鐘擺弄的人來說，這似乎是一件令人困惑的事情。

So what's the reason behind it?

那麼這背後的原因是什麼呢？

The original idea, proposed by George Hudson, was to give people more sunlight in the summer.

最初的想法是由喬治·哈德森提出的，是為了在夏天給人們更多的陽光。

Of course, it's important to note that changing a clock doesn't actually make more sunlight – that's not how physics works.

當然，值得注意的是，改變時鐘實際上並不會產生更多的陽光——物理不是這樣運作的。

But, by moving the clocks forward an hour, compared to all other human activity, the sun will seem to both rise and set later.

但是，透過將時鐘撥快一小時，與所有其他人類活動相比，太陽的升起和落下似乎都會更晚。

The time when the clocks are moved forward is called Daylight Saving Time and the rest of the year is called Standard Time.

時鐘向前移動的時間稱為夏令時間，一年中的其餘時間稱為標準時間。

This switch effectively gives people more time to enjoy the sunshine and nice summer weather after work.

這一轉變有效地讓人們在工作之餘有更多的時間享受陽光和美好的夏日天氣。

Hudson, in particular, wanted more sunlight so he could spend more time adding to his insect collection.

哈德森尤其想要更多的陽光，這樣他就可以花更多的時間來增加他的昆蟲收藏。

When winter is coming the clocks move back, presumably because people won't want to go outside anymore.

當冬天來臨時，時鐘會變慢，大概是因為人們不想再出去了。

But, winter doesn't have this effect on everyone.

但是，冬天並不是對每個人都有這種影響。

If you live in a tropical place like Hawaii, you don't really have to worry about seasons because they pretty much don't happen.

如果你住在夏威夷這樣的熱帶地方，其實不必擔心季節，因為它們幾乎不會發生。

Every day, all year is sunny and beautiful so Christmas is just as good of a day to hit the beach as any other.

一年中的每一天都是陽光明媚、美麗的，所以聖誕節和其他任何一天一樣是去海灘的好日子。

And so, Hawaii is one of two states in the Union that ignore Daylight Saving Time.

因此，夏威夷是美國兩個忽略夏令時間的州之一。

But, the further you travel from the equator in either direction the more the seasons assert themselves and you get colder and darker winters, making summer time much more valuable to the locals.

但是，從赤道向任一方​​行駛得越遠，季節就越明顯，冬天就會變得更冷、更黑暗，這使得夏季對當地人來說更有價值。

So it's no surprise that the further a country is from the equator the more likely it uses daylight saving time.

因此，一個國家距離赤道越遠，使用夏令時間的可能性就越大，這也就不足為奇了。

Hudson proposed his idea in Wellington in 1895 – but it wasn't well received and it took until 1916 for Germany to be the first country to put it into practice.

哈德森於 1895 年在惠靈頓提出了他的想法，但並沒有得到很好的接受，直到 1916 年德國才成為第一個付諸實踐的國家。

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.

不過，超級勤奮的德國人更關心的是節省煤炭來供給戰爭機器，而不是在晴朗的夏夜捕捉蝴蝶。

The Germans thought daylight saving time would conserve energy.

德國人認為夏令時間可以節省能源。

The reasoning goes that it encourages people to stay out later in the summer and thus use less artificial lighting.

理由是，它鼓勵人們在夏季晚些時候外出，從而減少人工照明的使用。

This sounds logical, and it may have worked back in the more regimented society of a hundred years ago, but does it still work in the modern world?

這聽起來合乎邏輯，而且它可能在一百年前更嚴格的社會中發揮作用，但在現代世界仍然有效嗎？

That turns out to be a surprisingly difficult question to answer.

事實證明，這是一個非常難以回答的問題。

For example, take mankind's greatest invention: AIR CONDITIONING.

以人類最偉大的發明為例：空調。

The magic box of cool that makes otherwise uninhabitable sections of the world quite tolerable places to live.

這個酷炫的魔盒讓世界上原本不適合居住的地區變成了可以居住的地方。

But, pumping heat out of your house isn't cheap and turning on one air conditioner is the same as running dozens of tungsten light bulbs.

但是，從房屋中抽出熱量並不便宜，打開一台空調就等於打開幾十個鎢絲燈泡。

If people get more sunshine, but don't use it to go outside then Daylight Saving Time might actually cost electricity, not save it.

如果人們獲得更多的陽光，但不利用它外出，那麼夏令間實際上可能會消耗電力，而不是節省電力。

This is particularly true in a place like Phoenix: where the average summer high is 107 degrees and the record is 122.

在鳳凰城這樣的地方尤其如此：那裡夏季平均最高氣溫為華氏107 度，最高紀錄為華氏 122 度。（約攝氏41.67度、攝氏50度）

If you suggest to an Arizonian to change their clocks in the summer to get more sunshine, they laugh in your face.

如果你建議亞利桑那人在夏天改變時間以獲得更多陽光，他們會當面嘲笑你。

Sun and higher electricity bills are not what they want which is why Arizona is the second state that never changes their clocks.

陽光和更高的電費不是他們想要的，這就是為什麼亞利桑那州是第二個從不調整時間的州。

Another problem when trying to study daylight saving time is rapid changes in technology and electrical use.

嘗試研究夏令時間的另一個問題是技術和電力使用的快速變化。

As technology gets better and better and better, more electricity is dedicated to things that aren't light bulbs.

隨著技術變得越來越好，更多的電力被用於燈泡以外的事物。

And the lure of a hot, sweaty, mosquito-filled day outside is less appealing than technological entertainments and climate-controlled comfort inside.

炎熱、出汗、蚊子密佈的戶外一天的吸引力不如室內的科技娛樂和氣候控制的舒適性那麼吸引人。

Also the horrifically energy in-efficient tungsten light bulbs that have remained unchanged for a century are giving way to CFLs and LEDs – greatly reducing the amount of energy required to light a room.

此外，一個世紀以來一直沒有改變的能源效率低得可怕的鎢絲燈泡正在被 CFL 和 LED 所取代，這大大減少了房間照明所需的能源。

So, even assuming that DST is effective, it's probably less effective with every passing year.

因此，即使假設夏令時間有效，它的效果也可能逐年下降。

The bottom line is while some studies say DST costs more electricity and others say it saves electricity,

重點是，雖然一些研究稱夏令時間會花費更多電力，而另一些研究則稱它可以節省電力，

the one thing they agree on is the effect size: not 20% or 10% but 1% or less, which, in the United States, works out to be about $4 per household.

他們一致同意的一件事是影響大小：不是 20% 或 10%，而是 1% 或更少，在美國，這大約是每個家庭 4 美元。

$4 saved or spent on electricity over an entire year is not really a huge deal either way.

不管怎樣，一整年省下或花費 4 美元的電費並不是什麼大不了的事。

So the question now becomes is the hassle of switching the clocks twice a year worth it?

那麼現在的問題是，每年兩次切換時鐘的麻煩值得嗎？

The most obvious trouble comes from sleep deprivation – an already common problem in the western world that DST makes measurably worse.

最明顯的問題來自睡眠不足——這在西方世界已經很普遍，夏令時間使情況變得更加嚴重。

With time-tracking software we can actually see that people are less productive the week after the clock changes.

透過時間追蹤軟體，我們實際上可以看到人們在時鐘變化後一周的工作效率降低。

This comes with huge associated costs.

這會帶來巨大的相關成本。

To make things worse, most countries take away that hour of sleep on a Monday morning.

更糟的是，大多數國家都取消了周一早上的睡眠時間。

Sleep deprivation can lead to heart attacks and suicides and the Daylight Saving Time Monday has a higher than normal spike in both.

睡眠不足會導致心臟病和自殺，夏令時間星期一這兩種疾病的發生率都高於正常水平。

Other troubles come from scheduling meetings across time zones.

其他麻煩來自於跨時區安排會議。

Let's say that your trying to plan a three-way conference between New York, London and Sydney – not an easy thing to do under the best of circumstances but made extra difficult when they don't agree on when daylight saving time should start and end.

假設您試圖計劃在紐約、倫敦和雪梨之間召開三方會議，即使在最好的情況下這也不是一件容易的事，但如果他們在夏令時開始和結束時間上沒有達成一致，那就會變得更加困難。

In the spring, Sydney is 11 hours ahead of London and New York is five hours behind.

春季，雪梨比倫敦早 11 小時，紐約比倫敦晚 5 小時。

But then New York is the first to enter Daylight Saving Time and moves its clock forward an hour.

但紐約是第一個進入夏令時間的國家，並將時鐘向前撥快一小時。

Two weeks later London does the same.

兩週後，倫敦也做了同樣的事情。

In one more week, Sydney, being on the opposite side of the world, leaves daylight saving time and moves its clock back an hour.

再過一周，位於世界另一端的雪梨將取消夏令時間，並將時鐘撥慢一小時。

So in the space of three weeks New York is five hours behind London, then four hours and then five hours again.

因此，在三週的時間裡，紐約比倫敦晚五個小時，然後是四個小時，然後又是五個小時。

And Sydney is either 11, 10 or 9 hours from London and 16, 15 or 14 hours from New York.

雪梨距離倫敦 11、10 或 9 小時，距離紐約 16、15 或 14 小時。

And this whole crazy thing happens again in reverse six months later.

六個月後，這整個瘋狂的事情又逆轉了。

Back in the dark ages, this might not have mattered so much but in the modern, interconnected world planning international meetings happens 1,000s and 1,000s of times daily.

在黑暗時代，這可能不那麼重要，但在現代、相互關聯的世界規劃中，國際會議每天都會舉行數千次。

Shifting and inconsistent time zones isn't doing netizens any favors.

時區的變化和不一致不會為網友帶來任何好處。

And, countries aren't even consistent about daylight saving time within their own borders.

而且，各國甚至在其境內的夏令時間方面也不一致。

Brazil has Daylight Saving Time, but only if you live in the south. Canada has it too, but not Saskatchewan.

巴西實施夏令時間，但前提是你住在南部。 加拿大也有，但薩斯喀徹溫省沒有。

Most of Oz does DST, but not Western Australia, The Northern Territory or Queensland.

澳洲大部分地區實施夏令時，但西澳大利亞、北領地或昆士蘭州不實施夏令時間。

And, of course, the United States does have DST, unless you live in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands or, as mentioned before Hawaii and Arizona.

當然，美國確實有夏令時間，除非你居住在波多黎各、維京群島、美屬薩摩亞、關島、北馬裡亞納群島或前面提到的夏威夷和亞利桑那州。

But Arizona isn't even consistent within itself.

但亞利桑那州內部也沒有統一。

While Arizona ignores DST, the Navaho Nation inside of Arizona follows it.

雖然亞利桑那州忽略夏令時間，但亞利桑那州內的納瓦霍族保留地遵循夏令時間。

Inside of the Navaho Nation is the Hopi Reservation which, like Arizona, ignores Daylight Saving Time.

納瓦荷族保留地內有霍皮族保留地，與亞利桑那州一樣，保留地忽略夏令時間。

Going deeper, inside of the Hopi Reservation is another part of the Navaho Nation which does follow Daylight Saving Time.

再深入一點，霍皮族保留地內是納瓦荷族保留地的另一部分，它確實遵循夏令時間。

And finally there is also part of the Hopi Reservation elsewhere in the Navaho Nation which doesn't.

最後，納瓦荷族保留地其他地方的霍皮保留地也有一部分沒有遵守。

So driving across this hundred-mile stretch would technically necessitate seven clock changes which is insane.

因此，開車穿越這百英里路段從技術上講需要改變七次時鐘，這是瘋狂的。

While this is an unusual local oddity, here is a map showing the different daylight saving and time zone rules in all their complicated glory – it's a huge mess and constantly needs updating as countries change their laws.

雖然這是一個不尋常的當地怪事，但這裡有一張地圖，顯示了不同的夏令時間和時區規則及其複雜的榮耀——這是一個巨大的混亂，並且隨著國家/地區法律的改變而不斷需要更新。

Which is why it shouldn't be surprising that even our digital gadgets can't keep the time straight occasionally.

這就是為什麼即使我們的數位產品偶爾也不能走準時間也就不足為奇了。

So to review: Daylight Saving Time gives more sunlight in the summer after work, which, depending on where you live might be an advantage – or not.

因此，回顧一下：夏令時間可以在夏天下班後提供更多的陽光，這可能是一個優勢，也可能不是，這取決於你居住的地方。

And it may (or may not) save electricity, but one thing is for sure, it's guaranteed to make something that should be simple, keeping track of time, quite complicated,

它可能（也可能不會）節省電力，但有一件事是肯定的，它保證會做出一些本來應該很簡單的東西，記錄時間，變得相當複雜，

which is why when it comes time to change the clocks, there is always a debate about whether or not we should.

這就是為什麼當需要改變時鐘時，總是存在著關於我們是否應該改變的爭論。