OMG, I can’t believe anyone is even arguing about this. It’s not about the whole “there wasn’t any year 0” thing that we all learned about before 2000 (even in a Seinfeld episode) and it’s not about the fact that 10 years equals a decade. It’s just a linguistic matter, a social construct and an effort by people to give a characteristic to the 10 years that all start with the same 3rd digit of the 4 digit year. At some point, someone wanted to characterize 1890-99 as “the gay 90s” (#nohome). Then there was the “Roaring 20s”. And so on, although the more recent decades don’t seem to have agreed upon names, just labels. The 50’s, 60’s, 70’s. Say those labels, and people get an image in their heads. Those are what a decade is in that context.
Decades don’t have to be so designated. They could begin in years ending in 5 instead of zero. You’d have the “Decade of 95-04”. And if you were born in 1997, you’d say you were born in the 95-04’s. But that would be stupid, wouldn’t it? So we generalize, and say “90’s” instead. And that guy born in 1997 was born in “the 90’s”. He became a decade old on his birthday in 2007, but that’s not what the 90s were. They were a collection of years that had the word ninety in their last two digits.
If I ever see another post arguing that the 20s begin in 2021, I am going to scream. Except you won’t hear it, so I will have to post a video of a scream or something like that. And it will be directed at the person who argues otherwise.
And, I do like you, too, greeneyes, but you are either a master disruptor or hopelessly mistaken. I think the latter, and I remain hopeful for your redemption.
a decade is any ten consecutive years. This is the first year of the 2020s.
And, I do like you, too, greeneyes, but you are either a master disruptor or hopelessly mistaken. I think the latter, and I remain hopeful for your redemption.
*********************************************************************************
Since I had already stopped with this discussion, I don’t know why in the world you had to drag me back in. I am not a master disruptor, and I think any review of my history would show that-I rarely argue on and on about stuff. State my opinion, but rarely get into a lengthy discussion. And I frankly don’t care for that mischaracterization of me.
Nor am I hopelessly mistaken. I am a mathematician and accountant, so tend to be precise with respect to numbers, and perhaps more precise than I should be-but you are the one that started this again.
The point I originally was trying to make was that saying someone was living in their 90th decade when they were only in their 70s brought to mind a 90 year old.
Further more, I care not one whit whether you start the decade on 1/1/2020 or 1/1/2021. What you can NOT do is to count both the first year and the 10th year.
If you start your decade on 1/1/2020, then the decade ends on 12/31/2029. If you start the decade on 1/1/2021 then that decade ends on 12/31/2930. In the example I first responded to, the starting and ending decades were counted yielding an extra decade.
Or to use another example, If you decide your newborn let’s say, born today is 1 year old, then 1/2/2029 they will be 10 —having only been alive for 9 years.
Actually they do something similar to this for race horses. That’s why some of the 3 yr old horses are really only 2 yrs. plus in the races for 3 yr. olds.
The expression—the 60s 70s etc. is non precise and really depends on how the person you are talking to defines a decade.
And either way is acceptable to me, though to be accurate, and considering the passage of time, it is more correct to say the decade starts when 12/31/2020 hits the midnight hour.
Now are you going to let this go, or continue arguing?