4 ms·

> Spring 2022 That was last week. (Seasons are a lousy way of describing times for anything other than local, geographically-anchored content. They’re only me

> Spring 2022 That was last week. (Seasons are a lousy way of describing times for anything other than local, geographically-anchored content. They’re only meaningful in a comparatively narrow band, falling apart if you head much towards the poles or equator—the four seasons model is useless in tropical areas especially—and inverting if you head to the other side of the equator.)

firecall 4y ago
Indeed. Our friends in the USA often assume the people they are talking to are only in the USA!
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  Nonsense, plenty of places in the US completely lack spring and fall as reality, including where I grew up. What you should have said is that many in the USA often assume the people they are talking to experienced a life identical to theirs
- system2 4y ago
  Doesn't everyone live in the USA?
randomdata 4y ago
> Seasons are a lousy way of describing times Given the context, 'spring' is just another way of saying second quarter. It has nothing to do with seasons beyond incidental alignment between calendar quarters and observed seasons in certain geographic areas where the use originated. Indeed, even second quarter breaks down where the Gregorian calendar isn't used, but you have to make assumptions at some point in order to communicate. Context fills in the gaps.
- rippercushions 4y ago
  No, it really isn't, and it's mildly obnoxious to people living in the southern hemisphere (or the tropics, for that matter) when people assume spring = Q2. Mildly because we're used to it, but it's not hard to avoid. And for better or worse, the Gregorian calendar is the universal civil system now, even in the countries like Saudi Arabia that notionally use other calendars. Even Korean Juche years, Japanese imperial eras etc are aligned to Gregorian years.
  - randomdata 4y ago
    Usage dictates that spring = Q2 when used in a business context centred around a US-based business. It has nothing to do with the seasons. It is quite common for words to have multiple meanings, using context to establish the exact definition in play. The only thing that is actually obnoxious is silly pedantry.
    - MBO35711 4y ago
      Not so. I would have guessed it was either Feb,Mar,Apr (astronomical) or Mar, Apr, May being the gardeners calendar. But Q2 is Q2. It's not just having to flip the season for the hemisphere.
      - randomdata 4y ago
        Quite so, even if a regional dialect. Certainly where Caterpillar operates out of it is common. If we were instead talking about an Australian company that produces barbies then we'd know we're talking about barbecues and not dolls, even where regional dialect only knows Barbie as a doll. Words don't exist in a vacuum. Context is significant.
    - chrismorgan 4y ago
      I have literally never heard this, and I’m more aware of the vagaries of USA and European business and general practices than most others in Australia. If someone on the internet says “Spring 2022”, I immediately assume it’s speaking of northern hemisphere temperate regions’ spring (because such dating is uncommon in the southern hemisphere to begin with and never used in public/worldwide internet situations because we’re more aware of these things), and after thinking carefully for a bit to straighten out in my mind when that actually is, I assume March–May 2022 or possibly a week earlier (equinoxes and such), because that’s what would be meant in Australia, if we ever expressed things like that (apart from the whole off-by-six months thing!). I would not expect June to be reckoned a part of it any more than I would expect March to be a part of Q2. (Incidentally, a year or two back I heard suggestions that “Q2” may customarily be anchored to financial rather than calendar years in some places. Not sure if this is true.) If by “spring” you meant to convey “the second quarter of the Gregorian calendar”, you failed to communicate accurately.

firecall 4y ago

Indeed. Our friends in the USA often assume the people they are talking to are only in the USA!

mrguyorama 4y ago
Nonsense, plenty of places in the US completely lack spring and fall as reality, including where I grew up. What you should have said is that many in the USA often assume the people they are talking to experienced a life identical to theirs
system2 4y ago
Doesn't everyone live in the USA?

randomdata 4y ago

> Seasons are a lousy way of describing times Given the context, 'spring' is just another way of saying second quarter. It has nothing to do with seasons beyond incidental alignment between calendar quarters and observed seasons in certain geographic areas where the use originated. Indeed, even second quarter breaks down where the Gregorian calendar isn't used, but you have to make assumptions at some point in order to communicate. Context fills in the gaps.

rippercushions 4y ago
No, it really isn't, and it's mildly obnoxious to people living in the southern hemisphere (or the tropics, for that matter) when people assume spring = Q2. Mildly because we're used to it, but it's not hard to avoid. And for better or worse, the Gregorian calendar is the universal civil system now, even in the countries like Saudi Arabia that notionally use other calendars. Even Korean Juche years, Japanese imperial eras etc are aligned to Gregorian years.
- randomdata 4y ago
  Usage dictates that spring = Q2 when used in a business context centred around a US-based business. It has nothing to do with the seasons. It is quite common for words to have multiple meanings, using context to establish the exact definition in play. The only thing that is actually obnoxious is silly pedantry.
  - MBO35711 4y ago
    Not so. I would have guessed it was either Feb,Mar,Apr (astronomical) or Mar, Apr, May being the gardeners calendar. But Q2 is Q2. It's not just having to flip the season for the hemisphere.
    - randomdata 4y ago
      Quite so, even if a regional dialect. Certainly where Caterpillar operates out of it is common. If we were instead talking about an Australian company that produces barbies then we'd know we're talking about barbecues and not dolls, even where regional dialect only knows Barbie as a doll. Words don't exist in a vacuum. Context is significant.
  - chrismorgan 4y ago
    I have literally never heard this, and I’m more aware of the vagaries of USA and European business and general practices than most others in Australia. If someone on the internet says “Spring 2022”, I immediately assume it’s speaking of northern hemisphere temperate regions’ spring (because such dating is uncommon in the southern hemisphere to begin with and never used in public/worldwide internet situations because we’re more aware of these things), and after thinking carefully for a bit to straighten out in my mind when that actually is, I assume March–May 2022 or possibly a week earlier (equinoxes and such), because that’s what would be meant in Australia, if we ever expressed things like that (apart from the whole off-by-six months thing!). I would not expect June to be reckoned a part of it any more than I would expect March to be a part of Q2. (Incidentally, a year or two back I heard suggestions that “Q2” may customarily be anchored to financial rather than calendar years in some places. Not sure if this is true.) If by “spring” you meant to convey “the second quarter of the Gregorian calendar”, you failed to communicate accurately.