What is time? Is it fixed or fluid; physical or philosophical; quantifiable, or completely questionable? These deep questions may never be answered, but one thing is clear: the measuring, recording, and interpretation of time is a fundamentally important mission for humanity. In the modern age of computing, the accurate reckoning of time across cities, countries, and even planets is performed by a fantastic patchwork of actors—from governments and corporations, to academicians and hackers of all colours.

In this high-speed and theatrical ignite, we’ll attempt to define and understand the nature of time, explore the real-world ramifications of time reckoning on the Internet today, and have some fun with time zones, datetime libraries, international politics, and Einstein’s theory of relativity!