I've seen all sorts of 'Decade in Review' stuff on TV these past two days, and I've let it go. But the more I think about it, the more I hate it. It's not the end of the decade, just like the year 2000 was not the start of the new millennium.
Our Western method of noting the years begins with the birth of Christ, or at least when people generally assume Jesus was born. The whole CE-BCE academic conceit aside - don't get me started on that one - the Gregorian calendar begins with the year 1. There is no year 0. Since a decade is ten years, the first decade would have ended on Dec 31st, 10, and the next decade would have begun on Jan 1st, 11. This means the first century would have ended on Dec 31st 100, the second century would have begun on Jan 1st, 101, etc. etc. etc. The second millennium began on Jan 1st, 2001, which means the first decade of that millennium ends next year, on Dec 31st, 2010.
Is it so hard to get this right?
And don't try to tell me that if everybody thinks the decade ends on the last day of 2009 that makes it so. The truth cannot be altered by ignorant consensus. If I get a bunch of morons together who all agree that the sky is yellow, that does not mean that when I step outside I'm going to look up to see a lemon heaven. The sky is blue, no matter what people say otherwise, and this is not the end of this decade, even though all the jackasses on TV say it is.
Maybe I'll be less cranky with the new decade. You know, in 2011.
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A decade is simply a period of 10 years. It is the end of the decade (10 year period) that began on January 1st, 2000. When we talk about the 70s, we're talking about the decade that lasted from 1970 to 1979. When we talk about the 1900s, we're talking about the century that lasted from 1900 to 1999. It really doesn't matter if we started counting with Year 1, Year 0, or year 347. All that matters is when the period in question began. Why is that such a complicated concept for pedants like you to grasp?
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I think I agree with Don. The news is talking about the end of the first decade of the new millennium, not some arbitrary 10 year period that just happened to begin in 2000. Do you want to let Access Hollywood decide the calendar for you?
ReplyDeleteSo the news actually said "This is the end of the first decade of the new millennium!" did they?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing not.
Actually, local news here said exactly that, the first decade of the new millennium. Probably too much for Access Hollywood to think about.
ReplyDelete