Did some research into when the decade started

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[Linked Image from imgs.xkcd.com]



And Billboard's "Best of the 80s" chart includes Blondie's 1980 hit "Call Me." QED.


(Thanks as always to xkcd!)
 
Hahahahaha!

I clearly understand the argument. But it's silly to say it's not the '20's right now, as it's obviously 2020.
 
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I hadn't thought of this as the 20's, a new decade, until now. Makes you think if you are older. My grandfather was in his 20's in the 1920's. Tick Tock.
 
Originally Posted by Farnsworth
I hadn't thought of this as the 20's, a new decade, until now. Makes you think if you are older. My grandfather was in his 20's in the 1920's. Tick Tock.



My grandfather was born in 1888. It amazes me how much change he saw in the world in his youth. I regret not talking to him more about that when I was a kid and he was still alive.

I'm sending this drawing to my son. He's insisting it's not the 20s yet.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
... But it's silly to say it's not the '20's right now, ....
Right, that's not equivalent to (illogically) saying 1-1-2000 was the beginning of the 21st century or 3rd millennium; it WAS the start of the 2000s, just as this year is the start of the (roaring?) '20s.
 
Whoever drew up the cartoon strip needs a simple lesson in math. It's as simple as drawing out a number line, but making it finite enough to identify minutes, seconds, even fractions of a second. At the very fraction of a second after midnight on New Years Day, we entered a new decade. The same is true for a century. The 21st century started at a fraction of a second after midnight 1/1/2000.

I'll be celebrating my 63rd birthday in a few days. But I'll be in my 64th year of life.

Working in a field where test events are measured in fractions of milliseconds really helps to understand this concept.
 
My wife's step father kept going on about 2000 not being the start of the 21st Centrury. We call people like that a wanker here.
 
When A.D. started did it start with a zero or a one? For me it depends on this answer. Not that it's that important in my life, perhaps I should Google this later.
 
I think he understands more math and science than the typical cartoonist.

My favorite XKCD is the Velociraptor problem.

[Linked Image from imgs.xkcd.com]


Originally Posted by BHopkins
Whoever drew up the cartoon strip needs a simple lesson in math. It's as simple as drawing out a number line, but making it finite enough to identify minutes, seconds, even fractions of a second. At the very fraction of a second after midnight on New Years Day, we entered a new decade. The same is true for a century. The 21st century started at a fraction of a second after midnight 1/1/2000.

I'll be celebrating my 63rd birthday in a few days. But I'll be in my 64th year of life.

Working in a field where test events are measured in fractions of milliseconds really helps to understand this concept.
 
Originally Posted by BeerCan
When A.D. started did it start with a zero or a one? For me it depends on this answer. Not that it's that important in my life, perhaps I should Google this later.

It was the first year. No 0BC or 0AD. Went from 1BC to 1AD, sweeping through "zero" in an instant.

IMO, given just how much data we have about back then... the loss of a year amounts to a rounding error. It's ok to lose a year methinks, especially since all of this is just for ease of conversation (nothing really changes at midnight on New Year's Eve).
 
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