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Time isn't, but punctuality, as a social as opposed to physical phenomenon, most certainly is.


It's disrespectful to be late no matter the power dynamic. In some power dynamics, it's okay to be disrespectful, though.


If the social group in question regards 13:00 as meaning between 13:00 and 13:10 then arriving at 13:05 is arriving on time and no one is bothered or inconvenienced.

Being late is not simply a property of the clock time but also of the society you are part of.

In England arriving early for a dinner party is going to get you at least a dirty look, arriving half an hour late just means that you might miss a pre-dinner drink. In Norway, if you are ten minutes late the host might send out a search party.


"Late" here means "arriving after the social expectation." In many places in the Americas, you can be (and are expected to be) an hour "late" for a party of any kind. That doesn't mean you are late.

In a Western business context, "late" comes about 1-2 minutes after the meeting starts.




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