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> ( ) by that logic, 2000 was the final year of the Nineties <rant> I'm annoyed by this argument, which came up again at the start of this year in dumb Twitter
by tom_mellior 6y ago
> ( ) by that logic, 2000 was the final year of the Nineties
<rant>
I'm annoyed by this argument, which came up again at the start of this year in dumb Twitter discussions about whether 2020 marks the beginning of a new decade.
2000 was not the final year of the Nineties. 2000 was the final year of the second millennium, and of the 20th century, and of the tenth decade of the 20th century. The Nineties were the years 1990-1999, the tenth decade of the 20th century were the years 1991-2000. These are different ranges, but we also use different terms to refer to them. There is no logical problem. There is only a problem with the assumption that these different terms "should" refer to the same concept.
So did 2020 mark the beginning of a new decade? Yes, it marked the beginning of the decade we might call the Twenty-Twenties. It did not mark the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century; that will be 2021.
</rant>
- kstenerud 6y agoAnd yet people will say that 2000 is the beginning of the millenium, and 2020 is the beginning of a decade, because colloquially it's easier and understandable. And no amount of begging, pleading, or berating will change that (although it might get you punched in the face). That pope Gregory XIII neglected to include a year 0 in his calendar doesn't have to condemn us to suffer the mental gymnastics in our daily lives.
- chrisseaton 6y ago> 2020 is the beginning of a decade, because colloquially it's easier and understandable But 2020 is technically the start of a decade, not just informally.
- dTal 6y agoWell, technically every day is the start of a decade.
- chrisseaton 6y agoNo that's what it informally means. Technically, decades start on the first day of a ...0 year, so not all days are the start of a decade.
- jfengel 6y agoWhat technique is this? I am unaware of any Office of Decades charged with deciding precisely what constitutes the sole definition of "decade".
- chrisseaton 6y ago> I am unaware of any Office of Decades charged with deciding precisely what constitutes the sole definition of "decade" ISO 8601 defines what a 'decade' is. I mean you're free to ignore it of course, like you're free to say March has 34 days if you want... but you may have trouble communicating with people and integrating with existing systems.
- jfengel 6y ago8601's definition of a decade is somewhat different from common parlance. They're using it only to mean "the first digit of a two-digit year", and doesn't really apply it beyond that. If you stick to only that definition of a decade, you're going to have communication problems with human beings.
- dtech 6y agoNah. 99/100 people will say the 90's decade is 1990-1999
- monkpit 6y agoA decade is just 10 years. There’s no specific start or end. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade > A decade is a period of 10 years.
- 0-_-0 6y agoThat would imply that not all decades are 10 years long, sice there was no year 0.
- chrisseaton 6y agoEither that or it means that the first nine years were not part of any decade.
- inopinatus 6y agoA decade is any interval of ten years, so all years are the start of a decade, except for the nine years at the end of the universe. Which explains why it is so difficult to make a reservation at Milliways.
- chrisseaton 6y ago> so all years are the start of a decade This isn't the standard technical meaning of 'decade'.
- inopinatus 6y ago“Decade” isn’t a technical term, which is the point here. It has no intrinsic meaning except “a span of ten years”. Everything else is nominal, not technical; conflating the two is basically nerd sniping, and enlightens no-one.
- chrisseaton 6y ago> “Decade” isn’t a technical term This whole article and thread is about building technical systems for dates. In a technical context, 'decade' is a term with a specific standard meaning, which is that it starts on a year ending with a zero. It's not nerd sniping to point that out in a thread already all about giving dates precise technical meanings!
- 6y ago
- yetanta 6y agoThat is the real rub. It is like the word 'hacker'. No amount of 'but it really means' will change that. It is like the Mandela effect. People see and hear and remember what they want, but reality can be very different. But they will still go about their day with the 'wrong way'. Life will be just fine with something like this being 'wrong'.
- tom_mellior 6y agoI don't think you read all of my comment. 2020 is absolutely the beginning of a decade. So is 2021. It's just not the same decade.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- sofetch 6y agoWhen I do this rant, I like to note that "the 1800s" and "the 19th century", while very similar, are not the same 100 year interval.