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I am neither a living being nor an object.
I have hundreds of friends, but they usually reject me.
Sometimes they let me join them, but it's always temporary.
Although without him none of us would exist, the sun is source of my loneliness.
You might think I am useless, but my very existence brings balance to the passage of time.

What am I?

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    $\begingroup$ I actually thought Facebook satisfied nearly all of these. $\endgroup$
    – Akshat Mahajan
    Oct 7, 2016 at 23:05

6 Answers 6

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Are you

February 29th

I am neither a living being nor an object.

February 29th is neither a living being nor an object.

I have hundreds of friends, but they usually reject me.

The other hundreds of days in a year (365)

Sometimes they let me join them, but it's always temporary.

On leap years the other days let February 29th join. But they will kick him out the next year.

Although without him none of us would exist, the sun is source of my loneliness.

Days are based on sunrise and sunset. So the days of year exist because of the sun.

You might think I am useless, but my very existence brings balance to the passage of time.

February 29th in a leap year is needed to balance the time.

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    $\begingroup$ I think that's it. The OP had a nice idea and forced it into a riddle. Too much imo :p $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Oct 7, 2016 at 9:35
  • $\begingroup$ Well aren't you a clever one! $\endgroup$
    – stack reader
    Oct 7, 2016 at 9:37
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    $\begingroup$ Wow, I would not have thought of that in a million years. $\endgroup$
    – Xenocacia
    Oct 7, 2016 at 9:58
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You are:

an electron.

I am neither a living being nor an object.

no explanation required.

I have hundreds of friends, but they usually reject me.

electrons repel each other because they have a negative charge.

Sometimes they let me join them, but it's always temporary.

In certain cases, at low temperatures 2 electrons can be bound. They are called a Cooper Pair

Although without him none of us would exist, the sun is source of my loneliness.

Stars form all the basic elements we know, bla, bla...they have electrons.

You might think I am useless, but my very existence brings balance to the passage of time.

Kind of a long shot here, but electrons can emit photons and this has something to to with Einstein's theory of relativity. A link between time and speed of light.

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    $\begingroup$ +1 for a good read! But not what I am looking for.If i was a jerk, i would insist that electrons are quantum objects :P $\endgroup$
    – stack reader
    Oct 7, 2016 at 9:01
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    $\begingroup$ Ha ha...Good think you are not a jerk. :) $\endgroup$
    – Marius
    Oct 7, 2016 at 9:04
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I think you are

A Facebook account. (or other social media)

I am neither a living being nor an object.

true, it is virtual

I have hundreds of friends,

Many people have hundreds of friends on Facebook

but they usually reject me.

Most of them you aren't really close to or even communicate with

Sometimes they let me join them, but it's always temporary.

Occasionally you do something with your less close Facebook friends

Although without him none of us would exist, the sun is source of my loneliness.

When the weather is nice and sunny, people spend less time on Facebook because they're out enjoying it, leaving the Facebook account lonely

You might think I am useless, but my very existence brings balance to the passage of time.

It doesn't actually do anything but spending time on your Facebook helps spending any free time.

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    $\begingroup$ I'm sure this is not the answer, but it was fun to read. $\endgroup$
    – Marius
    Oct 7, 2016 at 8:55
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    $\begingroup$ +1 for a nice try. But it is not what I am looking for. I'm not sure how I feel about facebook being essential for the balance of time :P. $\endgroup$
    – stack reader
    Oct 7, 2016 at 8:57
  • $\begingroup$ I never care what the OP actually had in mind. Some of the best answers the OP never imagined. $\endgroup$
    – candied_orange
    Oct 7, 2016 at 21:51
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You are

sleep

I am neither a living being nor an object.

you are a state

I have hundreds of friends, but they usually reject me.

every living beeing needs you as their "friend" (except those special frogs)

Sometimes they let me join them, but it's always temporary.

You may join them (most of the time) only at night

Although without him none of us would exist, the sun is source of my loneliness.

If the sun shines, we tend to be awake, hence no sleep.

You might think I am useless, but my very existence brings balance to the passage of time.

At night most people sleep to regain energy. Generally people are not much up to at nights, except for sleeping (and party ;-9)

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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Puzzling.SE. I think this is a good answer as of now. $\endgroup$
    – EKons
    Oct 7, 2016 at 12:01
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I think you are

The Null Hypothesis

I am neither a living being nor an object.

The Null Hypothesis is a statement or position. It is abstract rather than being a physical object.

I have hundreds of friends, but they usually reject me.

It is used by many scientists as a default hypothesis but the usual intent is to reject it in favour of an alternative hypothesis describing a new phenomenon.

Sometimes they let me join them, but it's always temporary.

When proving the existence of a certain phenomenon, a temporary acceptance of the null hypothesis may be reasonable until a contradiction is reached.

Although without him none of us would exist, the sun is source of my loneliness.

I think this refers to the Geocentric Model of the Universe which is one of our earliest examples of the Null Hypothesis being rejected. In fact, we now view it that the Earth orbits the Sun, instead of the other way round.

You might think I am useless, but my very existence brings balance to the passage of time.

Usually, most of us already know the Null hypothesis to be wrong so it seems useless but it is important always, in science, to consider the counter argument and provide balance to your approach.

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  • $\begingroup$ I am amazed at the imagination of my fellow puzzlers, but it was not the intended solution. The balance to the passage of time part has a much more literal meaning. $\endgroup$
    – stack reader
    Oct 7, 2016 at 9:17
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You are

Mark Zuckerburg.

I have hundreds of friends, but they usually reject me.

He's everyone's first friend request. He's likely also they're first friend-request-decline (but not for everyone!).

Sometimes they let me join them, but it's always temporary.

There's no way Zuckerberg's surviving the periodic friend-purges we all must endure.

Although without him none of us would exist, the sun is source of my loneliness.

We all know Mark's really a vampire. Since he can't go outside in daylight, he had to invent Facebook to have any meaningful social interaction. Without him, where would social media be today?

You might think I am useless, but my very existence brings balance to the passage of time.

Many have spent countless hours within the sinister time-sink that is Facebook.

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  • $\begingroup$ Dang, I missed the first line )= That's okay though, this wasn't a serious answer. $\endgroup$
    – Spazzlefrazzle
    Oct 7, 2016 at 19:22
  • $\begingroup$ You've already covered the first line by observing that he's a vampire. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Taylor
    May 9, 2017 at 21:49

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