The Last - And Not the Last

[bookslover]

Well, here we are - Tuesday, December 31, 2019.

The last day of the year - but not the last day of the decade (despite what you might be hearing).

Got a year to go to reach that milestone!

 

[jfschultz]

Yes, there was not a year zero, the calendar went from 1 BC to 1 AD.

 

[Jack K]

I have long realized that in this world there are "Grammar Nazis," and that I am always on the cusp of becoming one of them, yet fall short of greatness. But it seems there is an even more irritating breed of fastidious faultfinders known as "Calendar Nazis," and you, sir, have achieved the distinction of heading into 2020 as one of them!

A solid example to each of us who resolve to be more persnickety in the coming year! I raise a glass to your achievement.

 

[bookslover]

I have long realized that in this world there are "Grammar Nazis," and that I am always on the cusp of becoming one of them, yet fall short of greatness. But it seems there is an even more irritating breed of fastidious faultfinders known as "Calendar Nazis," and you, sir, have achieved the distinction of heading into 2020 as one of them!

A solid example to each of us who resolve to be more persnickety in the coming year! I raise a glass to your achievement.

Thanks, pal!

 

[Kinghezy]

Well, here we are - Tuesday, December 31, 2019.

The last day of the year - but not the last day of the decade (despite what you might be hearing).

Got a year to go to reach that milestone!

I thought this was going to a discussion on the "last will be first and the first will be last" with "first" being "not last". Well played, sir.

P.S. I agree with your premise, even though as I write this conclusion, I have to hold back in throwing in some "well actually".

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/27/791546842/people-cant-even-agree-on-when-the-decade-ends

When asked about the dispute, Rick Fienberg of the American Astronomical Society says he doesn't think his group has adopted an official position on the matter — but he adds, "History is clear: Because there was no Year Zero, the first decade of the common era (CE or AD) was years 1 to 10, the second decade was years 11 to 20, and the next decade will be years 2021 to 2030."

Part of the issue, he and others say, is our use of "decade" as a frame of cultural reference.

"The reason people get confused is because we tend to think of decades as 'the 20s' or 'the 30s,' Fienberg says. "It's true that 'the 20s' — that is, the period 2020 to 2029 — is a decade, i.e., 10 years, but in terms of keeping track of decades from a calendrical (rather than cultural) perspective, the decades are counted as noted above."​