why do people not know the correct end of the decade?

[cleverlymadeup]

this is something i've noticed for a long while now, it's the fact that people think that going from 2009 to 2010 signifies the end of the decade. the same thing happened going from 1999 to 2000, they thought it was the end of the millennium.

the thing is they are WRONG. any math student or person studying math will be able to explain how to count in base 10 aka the decimal system. you start at 1 and end at 10 before the next iteration comes up, aka 11. you don't start counting at 0 any counting system, even binary. start counting and i'm going to bet you start at 1 and not 0.

so i'm just wondering why people think the decade starts in 2010 instead of the correct year of 2011?

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

Because ten is a nice round number.

 

[Jamienra]

its easier to say the 70's 80's etc. rather than the 81+'s. also most people arent math students. its not like it really matters anyway

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I disagree with you. To me it makes sense that, for example, the seventies started in 1970. This is a bit like when people talk about the 18th century, which is in fact the 1700s.

 

[TheLastCylon]

Because no one cares?

[small]and some people still think math is witchcraft[/small]

 

[comadorcrack]

Cos its better than saying 'WOO we made it to 2001!'

 

[Icecoldcynic]

Well decades aren't maths. Therefore your entire point became meaningless. Right now we're in the 0x decade, and in the new year we will be in the 1x decade. Is that really so hard for you to comprehend? Are you saying the year 0 never existed and doesn't count as a year?

 

[WayOutThere]

2010 is more aesthetically pleasing

 

[Woodsey]

Technically you are right, but in practice I'll quote:

Because no one cares?

 

[Signa]

If you have to ask, I'm assuming it's not worth bothering to argue about. Are you going to look back in fifty years at the '20's decade, and define it as 2021-2030? Or are you going to do what everyone else does and just look at the first defining number of each decade? If it's the "twenties" then why should I count 2030 in there?

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Because people just perfer even numbers over odd numbers.It's just easier on the eyes.

Another excuse would be that not everyone enjoys math.

 

[mangus]

this seems like a "I can count and you can, praise me as a god" post. Nobody really cares if 01 is where the decade starts and just because you DO doesn't make you special. Just to spite you, I'm going to start counting from -02 from now on.

 

[Baby Tea]

start counting and i'm going to bet you start at 1 and not 0.

But if we're going by time, then it's not just years. It's years, months, weeks, days, hours, seconds, and milliseconds.
So right at the stroke of midnight it would still be the previous decade, but as soon as time goes forward by one second, the current time has a value greater than zero. I.E. 1 second. And thus, we've gone into the new decade!

 

[Maikan Bacon]

We may all count from 1. But that doesn't mean we didnt have a 0 AD.... Mathimatically argued with decimal, yes, you're correct, but historically, we had a year 0.

And besides, I like even numbers more than odd numbers.

 

[anaphysik]

the thing is they are WRONG. any math student or person studying math will be able to explain how to count in base 10 aka the decimal system. you start at 1 and end at 10 before the next iteration comes up, aka 11. you don't start counting at 0 any counting system, even binary. start counting and i'm going to bet you start at 1 and not 0.

Any computer science student will tell you that you start at 0 and count up. (In fact, in binary, you do start at 0 for ease of use (e.g., 0000 to 1111 is 16 numbers).)

Are you saying the year 0 never existed and doesn't count as a year?

Well, a contributing problem is that in the BC-AD (or BCE-CE) system, there is no 0BC or AD0 - the calendar goes from 1BC to AD1.

 

[Maikan Bacon]

But that doesn't mean we didnt have a 0 AD....

the calendar goes from 1BC to AD1.

Okay, I take it back, but even so, our calendar is retarded.

 

[Shru1kan]

Well decades aren't maths. Therefore your entire point became meaningless. Right now we're in the 0x decade, and in the new year we will be in the 1x decade. Is that really so hard for you to comprehend? Are you saying the year 0 never existed and doesn't count as a year?

You don't start counting something that existed at 0. It's like saying I have three dots. 0, 1, 2, 3. here's a picture of them (. . . .)

DECA is a group of ten in our decimal system.

Is it really that hard to see? There can't be a year 0 because its like saying I live in the 0th house on the left, Chicago the 0th city established, I came in 0th place... etc etc.


Yeah, OP, your average person doesn't like to to look at odd numbers. Plus counting back by tens in DECAdes would leave you at year 1. So you're correct, spread the word and all that. I got my family to stop being dumb about it when I was 7 and it was New Years Eve 1999.

 

[anaphysik]

But that doesn't mean we didnt have a 0 AD....

the calendar goes from 1BC to AD1.

Okay, I take it back, but even so, our calendar is retarded.

Some calendars do include a year zero (astronomical, Hindu, etc.) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_zero], just not the Gregorian one.

 

[rokkolpo]

Because no one cares?

this a million times.

and it is stated that it is the end of the millenium (even if math says differently)