indyfabz

Why is tomorrow considered the start of a new decade? There was no year 0 A.D., so shouldn't 2021 be the start of the new decade?

MoAlpha

No, because I do not like thinking of myself as being in my 70s.

datlas 

You are technically correct. Similarly the millennium did not start until 2001, but no point trying to reason with the masses. Accept the convention and carry on.

Related Fun Fact: since you are never 0 days old, you turn one year older the day BEFORE your birthday. I tried to explain this to my kids, and it's actually common law, but they think I am nuts.

rjones28 

For demographic purposes, I count kids as age 0 from birth to the first anniversary of their birth.

rjones28 

'Cause we flipped the digit in the ten's place.

What do I win?

datlas 

Issue is you are ONE day old on the day of your birth. Therefore you are 1 year and 1 day old on your 1st birthday, hence you turn 1 on the day BEFORE your birthday and turn n on the day before your n-th birthday.

So kids can go to a bar and drink the day before they turn 21, if they so desire.

datlas 

Unless I can sneak in a ride after work today, the magic number this year is 6768.

rjones28 

Try explaining that to a bouncer.

rjones28 

My number is not magic this year.

datlas 

Thanks for the ear-worm.

BillyD

The song "Play At Your Own Risk" immediately comes to mind.

BillyD

'Zactly.

datlas 

Sounds like a bad Seinfeld episode. Maybe we can make the 21 year old Kramer's nephew?

BillyD

It's elementary, actually. We can't have an old (past) decade with a new decade number in it. For example, the decade would run from 2011 - 2020? Unacceptable, and gauche. The 2010s must all be uniform and keep intruders out. That '20' has to be the sign of a new decade.

Velo Vol 

No one was alive today was around for year 0.

datlas 

I bumped my "Annual Mileage Thread" since it's NYE. But it's not getting much traction. Sad!

Trsnrtr

I’m at 6606 and I doubt that I go out today. 32°, 16-32 mph winds. Might, though, just to stay off the trainer.

DougRNS

one is the loneliest number - Abraham Lincoln

MoAlpha

There's a Kudos in it, sonny...

Beat myself up on the trainer last eve and the gym at work is closed, so it's just the commute for me.

Velo Vol 

Do you write a lot of demographic literature?

Velo Vol 

Who wants to know how many miles I walked in 2019?

datlas 

I think the correct units (according to my fit-bit patients) is steps.

So, how many steps this year, @Velo Vol?

Bah Humbug

That's what I was going to say; it's clearest and simplest to refer to the set of years that begin "201" or "202" than "the set of years running from 2011-2020".

Also, technically, any 10-year span is a decade. We can speak of the decade running from 2006-2015 if we like. It doesn't have a name, but it's a decade. It can even start (and end) on any arbitrary date.

Personally, I find it easiest to refer to decades as "the 90s" (or whatever), and same for referring to centuries as "the 1800s". No one is confused by what that means. Though I have had people try really hard to correct me that when I refer to 1880 as being in the 1800s, they try to correct me that it's the 19th century. Which it is, but isn't what I said, because I was specifically avoiding the phrasing that makes less sense and mostly just confuses people who aren't certain varieties of nerds.

indyfabz

Planet Patrol. Ol’ Skool!

indyfabz

Time to cook the bunny.