Time worry

Time worry

The letter by Behme on Indonesian time (The Jakarta Post,
Sept. 10, 1995) reminds me of a story I learned while a student
in the mid 1950s. It happened that somebody wanted to know
exactly how much two times two actually is. So he flew abroad to
find out from people he met in different countries.

When he landed in Frankfurt he asked the first German he met,
who just happened to be a mathematician. "Mein Herr," he said, "I
am doing research to find out how much two times two actually is.
Could you give me the answer?"

"No doubt about it," said the German. "It is exactly four, no
more, no less."

Taking note of this, he took off to New York and the first
American he asked was an engineer. At that time there was no
portable calculators so the engineer pulled out his slide rule.
After a small operation the engineer answered, "Well, it is
actually between 3.9 and 4.1, but most probably it is four."

Still curious he asked the first Japanese he met at Haneda
Airport the same question. The Japanese man happened to be a
banker. "I am deeply sorry," the banker responded with a deep
bow, "but is it buying or selling?"

Now this fellow was getting confused, so he returned to
Jakarta still unsatisfied. While sipping his kopi kocok telor
dengan madu (coffee with raw egg and honey) he complained to an
Indonesian sitting next to him who looked very well-dressed and
seemed to be very intelligent.

"Well Bung," he addressed this person, "I have been traveling
for a week now to Germany, the U.S. and Japan to find out how
much two times two actually is, but I got different answers. I
wonder whether you can help me in this matter?"

With a big smile and his hands opened, the gentleman said
"Well, friend, what's the worry? How much do you want? Leave it
to me. It all can be arranged."

The gist of the story is, reader Behme, there are many answers
to a simple question. It is for you to find out which one is the
most trustworthy. In your case, when I was in elementary school
before World War II, my teacher told me that the international
time follows Greenwich Mean Time. Later I learned that the BBC
always broadcasts GMT up to the second.

Now, when I want to be ready for a party, I use the time in my
bedroom which is 30 minutes early to give my wife ample time to
get ready. For other purposes, well, what's the worry? After all
these time checkers are themselves not worried whether their time
is right or not.

M. ANWAR IBRAHIM

South Jakarta