5 ms·

> 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 beyon

> 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.
    - randomdata 4y ago
      > If by “spring” you meant to convey “the second quarter of the Gregorian calendar”, you failed to communicate accurately. How could I be more clear? "Given the context, 'spring' is just another way of saying second quarter. ... Indeed, even second quarter breaks down where the Gregorian calendar isn't used, but ..." I'm really not sure what is missing. Definitely interested in your advice. Or maybe you're referring to the person who originally used Spring 2022? If that's the case then that wasn't communicated very well. "You" referring to an unrelated third-party is a new one for me. > 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. Definitely true in the right context, but "spring" is used more for general audiences when trying to not sound business-y; particularly when the audience is children. I doubt you will find this usage in a financial context, but definitely with respect to product launches. Something like "Coming Spring 2022" is quite common. As this pertains to children, it is also not uncommon to see school periods referred to by these same names. e.g. "fall semester", while "summer" is the name of the prolonged vacation period. Because of that, these words are relatable (to those in the geographic region of origin), and is likely why we started seeing them turn up in business contexts, especially in advertising.
- fijiaarone 4y ago
  All the people who live in the southern hemisphere live in the tropics or subtropics. Spring has no more meaning in Melbourne than it does in Mexico City.
  - chrismorgan 4y ago
    I can't comment on the meaning of spring in Mexico City, but I assure you that it means plenty in Melbourne and its surrounds, colloquially and in actual weather. Even if we didn't get a lot of it this particularly wet year.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - rippercushions 4y ago
    Having lived in Melbourne, those are both pretty bizarre assertions, although it's a running gag for Melbourne that you can easily experience all four seasons in a day. In Australia, only coastal NT/FNQ qualify as tropical, with a subtropical slice from Brisbane down to Sydney: https://plantmaps.com/koppen-climate-classification-map-australia-new-zealand.php https://plantmaps.com/koppen-climate-classification-map-aust...
    - smcl 4y ago
      A funny thing I've realised is that it's a running gag in many places, and each one thinks it's unique to them :)
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - nl 4y ago
    This is only correct if you round to the nearest billion people. Around 250 million people live south of the Tropic of Capricorn: https://www.quora.com/What-proportion-of-the-worlds-population-lives-south-of-the-Tropic-of-Capricorn https://www.quora.com/What-proportion-of-the-worlds-populati... That would be roughly the 5th most populous country in the world. If we are making generalisations that big we might as well say that no one lives in the United States (population 330M, but rounded to the nearest billion it is zero right?)

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.
  - randomdata 4y ago
    > If by “spring” you meant to convey “the second quarter of the Gregorian calendar”, you failed to communicate accurately. How could I be more clear? "Given the context, 'spring' is just another way of saying second quarter. ... Indeed, even second quarter breaks down where the Gregorian calendar isn't used, but ..." I'm really not sure what is missing. Definitely interested in your advice. Or maybe you're referring to the person who originally used Spring 2022? If that's the case then that wasn't communicated very well. "You" referring to an unrelated third-party is a new one for me. > 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. Definitely true in the right context, but "spring" is used more for general audiences when trying to not sound business-y; particularly when the audience is children. I doubt you will find this usage in a financial context, but definitely with respect to product launches. Something like "Coming Spring 2022" is quite common. As this pertains to children, it is also not uncommon to see school periods referred to by these same names. e.g. "fall semester", while "summer" is the name of the prolonged vacation period. Because of that, these words are relatable (to those in the geographic region of origin), and is likely why we started seeing them turn up in business contexts, especially in advertising.
fijiaarone 4y ago
All the people who live in the southern hemisphere live in the tropics or subtropics. Spring has no more meaning in Melbourne than it does in Mexico City.
- chrismorgan 4y ago
  I can't comment on the meaning of spring in Mexico City, but I assure you that it means plenty in Melbourne and its surrounds, colloquially and in actual weather. Even if we didn't get a lot of it this particularly wet year.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- rippercushions 4y ago
  Having lived in Melbourne, those are both pretty bizarre assertions, although it's a running gag for Melbourne that you can easily experience all four seasons in a day. In Australia, only coastal NT/FNQ qualify as tropical, with a subtropical slice from Brisbane down to Sydney: https://plantmaps.com/koppen-climate-classification-map-australia-new-zealand.php https://plantmaps.com/koppen-climate-classification-map-aust...
  - smcl 4y ago
    A funny thing I've realised is that it's a running gag in many places, and each one thinks it's unique to them :)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- nl 4y ago
  This is only correct if you round to the nearest billion people. Around 250 million people live south of the Tropic of Capricorn: https://www.quora.com/What-proportion-of-the-worlds-population-lives-south-of-the-Tropic-of-Capricorn https://www.quora.com/What-proportion-of-the-worlds-populati... That would be roughly the 5th most populous country in the world. If we are making generalisations that big we might as well say that no one lives in the United States (population 330M, but rounded to the nearest billion it is zero right?)