That is confusing. “PM” is “post meridian” or, as I understand it, after the middle. One would think it wouldn’t be PM until 12:01 or at least 12:00:01.
Which is why I, as you said, use “noon” and “midnight.”
I can never remember it properly either but when someone reminds me (thanks samus12345) which way around it is it does kind of make sense.
If you think of 12:00 as literally an infinitesimal slice of time it’s not really possible to give it an am/pm distinction, as it is literally the devider between the two. BUT, in a more real-life approach 12:00 is probably not an infinitesimal slice of time but the minute after a digital clock flipped to 12:00. That can be 12:00:00.00004 or 12:00:30 or 12:00:59.999944. And all those are indisputably pm.
Correct - technically, noon is neither am nor pm, but clocks and the like have to have SOMETHING there, so am for midnight and pm for noon was arbitrarily chosen.
12am is midnight and 12pm is noon. But most people just say “noon” or “midnight” because it’s less confusing.
That is confusing. “PM” is “post meridian” or, as I understand it, after the middle. One would think it wouldn’t be PM until 12:01 or at least 12:00:01.
Which is why I, as you said, use “noon” and “midnight.”
I can never remember it properly either but when someone reminds me (thanks samus12345) which way around it is it does kind of make sense.
If you think of 12:00 as literally an infinitesimal slice of time it’s not really possible to give it an am/pm distinction, as it is literally the devider between the two. BUT, in a more real-life approach 12:00 is probably not an infinitesimal slice of time but the minute after a digital clock flipped to 12:00. That can be 12:00:00.00004 or 12:00:30 or 12:00:59.999944. And all those are indisputably pm.
Couldn’t it be 00:00 PM? So zero time since meridian?
That’s not a bad suggestion, but may interfere with 24 hour clocks.
That’s why you switch the clocks over to 24 hours
I can’t tell if you’re agreeing or arguing with me.
Correct - technically, noon is neither am nor pm, but clocks and the like have to have SOMETHING there, so am for midnight and pm for noon was arbitrarily chosen.