Chidinma's Blog

Series

Why Time Breaks Distributed Systems

We treat timestamps as facts. In distributed systems, they’re not.

This series explores why time fails, how ordering actually works, and the tools systems use instead.

Mar 29, 2026
Mar 29, 202612 min read458 views
Why time breaks distributed systems
Part 1: Why timestamps lie and ordering events isn’t as simple as it looks
12 min read458 views
Apr 5, 2026
Apr 5, 202613 min read185 views
Ordering ≠ time
Part 2: If timestamps lie, what actually determines order?
13 min read185 views
Apr 18, 2026
Apr 18, 20269 min read91 views
Constructing Order Without Time
Part 3: How distributed systems track causality
9 min read91 views
May 17, 2026
May 17, 202610 min read127 views
Hybrid Logical Clocks: Having your cake and eating it, too
Part 4: How reality forces us to bring time back
10 min read127 views

Why Time Breaks Distributed Systems