> Take the argument that it is currently easy to tell whether or not it's a good time to call someone on the other side of the world. Currently, supposedly, all you have to do is look up what time it is there. This is, frankly, bullshit.
It's actually much easier than that. Just call them, and if they're asleep their phone will be on silent.
But honestly, who do you know who lives on the other side of the world, and you're close enough with them that you would give them an unscheduled call, but you're not close enough with them to know what times are good for them to receive phone calls, and you're worried that they would be upset by a phone call at a bad time?
You're right, the case as given in the essay is a pretty massive stretch from anything reasonable. What I was hoping to show was that even if you take it as straightforwardly as possible, it fails on its own terms. A universal time used by everyone would make it easier to communicate even in this case.
It's actually much easier than that. Just call them, and if they're asleep their phone will be on silent.
But honestly, who do you know who lives on the other side of the world, and you're close enough with them that you would give them an unscheduled call, but you're not close enough with them to know what times are good for them to receive phone calls, and you're worried that they would be upset by a phone call at a bad time?