4 ms·

I count difference between small numbers and enums on my fingers. This includes e.g. - the distance between months - the distance between wall clocks It'

by sshine 2y ago

I count difference between small numbers and enums on my fingers. This includes e.g. - the distance between months - the distance between wall clocks It's simpler for me to say "The number of months between March and September is... April, May, June, July, August, September, six." than "The number of months between March, 3, and September, 9, is 9-3 = 6," because I don't cache the numeric value of the months. Maybe I would if I were a Chinese speaker, where September's name is 九月 jiǔ yuè = nine month. For wall clocks that wrap around midnight, it's simpler to count because it removes dealing with negative numbers. I count the number of days in a month on my knuckles.

acadapter 2y ago
The months after July are named after numbers, but the names are from the old calendar when the year started in March.
- lupire 2y ago
  The months after August are named after numbers. July and August form the Caesarian section.
  - wdh505 2y ago
    Ah, so October is the official month of births as it comes after this "c section". Pun intended.
eastbound 2y ago
/!\ Months are intervals and suffer from the off-by-one problem. If you count from the 15th to the 15th, fine. But if you start on March 1st, finishing in September means 7 months, not 9-3=6. That’s when my fingers help me visualize full months.
- sshine 2y ago
  Yeah, I think that might well be why I stick to finger counting, so I don’t accidentally count the offset as the first step.
thedufer 2y ago
September is a funny choice to use as an example, because it is named after a number (sept-: prefix, 7). The wrong number, though.
- dylan604 2y ago
  So remembering this little tid bit would do more harm than good
  - thedufer 2y ago
    All of the months with numerical prefixes are wrong by the same offset, though. So as long as you remember that as well, it can be useful. Particularly since they're the last ones and thus take the longest to count to.
- swader999 2y ago
  This is because September used to be the seventh month. March was the new year and coinsided with spring planting, the spring equinox. At some point we switched from a solar calendar to a lunar one and that's when the new year month changed. Source for all this is the dead sea scrolls, see the book "Ancient Mysteries of the Essenes" for a deep dive on our calendar.
  - eddd-ddde 2y ago
    Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec. My favourite months, wish they still where 7-10.
  - asveikau 2y ago
    I thought the reason is because they added two months named July and August after emperors, which offset all the numbers by 2. (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec - 7, 8, 9, 10)
    - ianburrell 2y ago
      That happened later, well after January and February had been added. I think the twelve month Roman calendar was from pre-history so we don't know when or why it was done. July and August were Quintilis and Sextilis, five and six.
smusamashah 2y ago
I check my knuckles if its 30/31 days in a given month. Start counting months on first knuckle while including the depth between knuckles as well. Height means 31, depth means 30.
- al_borland 2y ago
  I still do this as well. I never understood why the little poem was so popular. At that point it’s just coming down to rote memorization, as pretty much any month can be used in any order and it will still sound right. The thing one does need to remember with the knuckle method is to count the end twice before going back the other way. July and August are both 31. I suppose this isn’t an issue if 2 fists are used, but I was taught to use one, so I could use my finger to track and feel the peaks and valleys.
  - maw 2y ago
    What's wrong with the poem? Thirteen days have November April, May, and December. All the rest have thirty nine except for February when the weather is fine. Works for me.
  - smusamashah 2y ago
    Never realized I could use my finger tips for doing the same.
- JohnFen 2y ago
  I do this as well. It's very handy (no pun intended).
sameerds 2y ago
Although in general I also count the difference in months on my fingers, this particular example from March to September just automatically pops a "six" because they are both ends of financial quarters. "Three months after Feb?" I need to count. "Three months after March? That's the next quarter, so June."
talldatethrow 2y ago
As a fun reminder of how different people are, the months to me are basically only their numeric value, and if someone starts taking about October I think to myself "October? Oh ya, the 10th month, got it."

by sshine 2y ago

acadapter 2y ago

The months after July are named after numbers, but the names are from the old calendar when the year started in March.

lupire 2y ago
The months after August are named after numbers. July and August form the Caesarian section.
- wdh505 2y ago
  Ah, so October is the official month of births as it comes after this "c section". Pun intended.

eastbound 2y ago

/!\ Months are intervals and suffer from the off-by-one problem. If you count from the 15th to the 15th, fine. But if you start on March 1st, finishing in September means 7 months, not 9-3=6. That’s when my fingers help me visualize full months.

sshine 2y ago
Yeah, I think that might well be why I stick to finger counting, so I don’t accidentally count the offset as the first step.

thedufer 2y ago

September is a funny choice to use as an example, because it is named after a number (sept-: prefix, 7). The wrong number, though.

dylan604 2y ago
So remembering this little tid bit would do more harm than good
- thedufer 2y ago
  All of the months with numerical prefixes are wrong by the same offset, though. So as long as you remember that as well, it can be useful. Particularly since they're the last ones and thus take the longest to count to.
swader999 2y ago
This is because September used to be the seventh month. March was the new year and coinsided with spring planting, the spring equinox. At some point we switched from a solar calendar to a lunar one and that's when the new year month changed. Source for all this is the dead sea scrolls, see the book "Ancient Mysteries of the Essenes" for a deep dive on our calendar.
- eddd-ddde 2y ago
  Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec. My favourite months, wish they still where 7-10.
- asveikau 2y ago
  I thought the reason is because they added two months named July and August after emperors, which offset all the numbers by 2. (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec - 7, 8, 9, 10)
  - ianburrell 2y ago
    That happened later, well after January and February had been added. I think the twelve month Roman calendar was from pre-history so we don't know when or why it was done. July and August were Quintilis and Sextilis, five and six.

smusamashah 2y ago

I check my knuckles if its 30/31 days in a given month. Start counting months on first knuckle while including the depth between knuckles as well. Height means 31, depth means 30.

al_borland 2y ago
I still do this as well. I never understood why the little poem was so popular. At that point it’s just coming down to rote memorization, as pretty much any month can be used in any order and it will still sound right. The thing one does need to remember with the knuckle method is to count the end twice before going back the other way. July and August are both 31. I suppose this isn’t an issue if 2 fists are used, but I was taught to use one, so I could use my finger to track and feel the peaks and valleys.
- maw 2y ago
  What's wrong with the poem? Thirteen days have November April, May, and December. All the rest have thirty nine except for February when the weather is fine. Works for me.
- smusamashah 2y ago
  Never realized I could use my finger tips for doing the same.
JohnFen 2y ago
I do this as well. It's very handy (no pun intended).

sameerds 2y ago

Although in general I also count the difference in months on my fingers, this particular example from March to September just automatically pops a "six" because they are both ends of financial quarters. "Three months after Feb?" I need to count. "Three months after March? That's the next quarter, so June."

talldatethrow 2y ago

As a fun reminder of how different people are, the months to me are basically only their numeric value, and if someone starts taking about October I think to myself "October? Oh ya, the 10th month, got it."