Is it the true end of a decade tonight or was it last year

Liquid_Entity · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:10

I can never work out what the true end of decade is.

ToxicTBag · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:11

Not 100% sure but i would have thought tonight...Happy New Year

MooMoo444 · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:13

Well when you say like, the ninetys (90's), that began in 1990 so following that example, we already started this decade!

Liquid_Entity · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:16

Damn I missed the boat last year then, I was in Japan so had no idea what day/week/month it was haha

Jokester · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:35

2010 was the first year of the "tenties", 2009 was the last year of the "noughties".

Toaster · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:51

Jokester said:
2010 was the first year of the "tenties", 2009 was the last year of the "noughties".

This, although all the "best song/film/advert/etc of the decade" shows on at the moment are including 2010 for some reason.

Tombstone · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:57

Jokester said:
2010 was the first year of the "tenties", 2009 was the last year of the "noughties".

This. 2009 was the last year of the last decade, its the same as your age, you're in your 20s when you reach 20 not 21.

Liquid_Entity · 31 Dec 2010 at 09:59

Got it, cheers.

JBod · 31 Dec 2010 at 10:45

Liquid_Entity said:
Damn I missed the boat last year then, I was in Japan so had no idea what day/week/month it was haha

To demonstrate my ignorance, do they not run a normal calendar (Gregorian calendar) over there?

big_white_dog84 · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:15

The end of the decade is tonight - the same as the end of the last millennium was at the end of 2000 - not the end of 1999. Unfortunately the general public are too ignorant to understand this concept and so we always celebrate the year that Joe Public thinks is correct.

JBod · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:16

big_white_dog84 said:
The end of the decade is tonight - the same as the end of the last millennium was at the end of 2000 - not the end of 1999. Unfortunately the general public are too ignorant to understand this concept and so we always celebrate the year that Joe Public thinks is correct.

I want to be you.

The $6m Dan · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:17

There was no year 0, so the first decade was years 1 to 10, so technically the last decade was 2000 to 2010, but nobody really counts like that.

SiD the Turtle · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:19

big_white_dog84 said:
The end of the decade is tonight - the same as the end of the last millennium was at the end of 2000 - not the end of 1999. Unfortunately the general public are too ignorant to understand this concept and so we always celebrate the year that Joe Public thinks is correct.

Unless you're going to bring up that whole 'the first decade started on year 1 because there is no year 0 therefore 10 was still part of the first decade' thing, which is just nonsense semantics.

Fuzz · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:20

I can hardly believe we've gone through 10 years of the new millennium already.

Where does it all go

SkeeterUK · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:20

New decade (every 10 years) starts new years day. As the 2000-2010 decade is almost over now.

Liquid_Entity · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:23

JBod said:
To demonstrate my ignorance, do they not run a normal calendar (Gregorian calendar) over there?

I was travelling I lost all concept of dates and times haha

cloud84 · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:29

Complicated question. Actually tonight we change decade, pretty much the same way we actually changed millennium in 2001 and not in 2000.
The reason is very simple. When we moved on to the new calendar we started counting years from 1. There was never year 0. So if you start counting from 1 then you complete 10 digits if you include 10 itself. So a decade as you guessed it spans from 1 to 10.
Things get complicated when you consider the consequences. Astronomers for example, actually use year 0 to compensate for this so their numbering system for years is not the same as the Gregorian calendar. The problem is not simple semantics unfortunately and it cocks things up for many scientists who have to consider absolute time.
So by the calendar we currently use, the decade is changing tonight. In terms of absolute years it changed in 09. So basically the average Joe is actually celebrating in terms of absolute years while thinking that he is celebrating in terms of Gregorian calendar.

cloud84 · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:31

SiD the Turtle said:
Unless you're going to bring up that whole 'the first decade started on year 1 because there is no year 0 therefore 10 was still part of the first decade' thing, which is just nonsense semantics.

it is a very valid argument actually and not semantics at all. read post above for explanation.

Jokester · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:33

So what's the name of the decade then that finishes tonight

.

gillywibble · 31 Dec 2010 at 11:34

big_white_dog84 said:
The end of the decade is tonight - the same as the end of the last millennium was at the end of 2000 - not the end of 1999. Unfortunately the general public are too ignorant to understand this concept and so we always celebrate the year that Joe Public thinks is correct.

No, we don't care.