The current decade still has one year to go. There has never been a year “0” in this or similar calendar systems.

This fact was covered in detail all over the media ten years ago, but some people (that now write about their reflections on the decade on blogs and in newspaper columns) apparently were hiding in caves then, fearing the end of the world was near because some fiction author or chain-mail started by Nostradamus himself had said so.

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froylein

6 Comments

  • Froylein, now that you’re in the mood for discussing profound truths 😉 have you ever pondered the meaning of the name “Jacob, deceiver”? Is it a metaphor for jews (or G-d) being deceptive? I often follow with interest your insights on, for example, traces of egyptian religion in judaism, and would like to know what you think about it. Disclaimer: honest question, I know it has antisemitic overtones, but I thought any insight would somehow dispel such uncomfortable thoughts.

  • Just to point out – the “ubiquitous rising sea levels” exist only in the journalist’s fevered brain: the nitwit is on PC automatic pilot even while reporting the exact opposite phenomena.

    When ice in the water melts – sea levels FALL, because ice is less dense than water.

    When ice on land (glaciers) melts – the land rises to more than compensate.

    Which may be why no significant change in sea levels has been recorded anywhere in the world.

  • Oh, and Fro – another thing the Greeniacs were wrong about: melting glaciers have caused sea levels to fall – and some land masses to rise:

    from the NY Times:
    As Alaska Glaciers Melt, It’s Land That’s Rising

    By CORNELIA DEAN
    Published: May 17, 2009

    JUNEAU, Alaska — Global warming conjures images of rising seas that threaten coastal areas. But in Juneau, as almost nowhere else in the world, climate change is having the opposite effect: As the glaciers here melt, the land is rising, causing the sea to retreat.

    The geology is complex, but it boils down to this: Relieved of billions of tons of glacial weight, the land has risen much as a cushion regains its shape after someone gets up from a couch. The land is ascending so fast that the rising seas — a ubiquitous byproduct of global warming — cannot keep pace. As a result, the relative sea level is falling, at a rate “among the highest ever recorded,” according to a 2007 report by a panel of experts convened by Mayor Bruce Botelho of Juneau.

    Greenland and a few other places have experienced similar effects.

    Link:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/science/earth/18juneau.html?_r=2

  • Can’t we all just pretend that the “0” Year is the first year of the decade/century/millennium? Pretend that the ancients just “forgot” to start counting from year 0 instead of year 1, or didn’t know better? Maybe we should just go with the flow so we don’t have to go through this again in 2019/21? This is not a serious suggestion, but the author is correct; the question comes up every time the decade (not to mention century/millennium) clocks over.

  • The year 2000 is the end of the decade that was counted as such:

    1. 1991
    2. 1992
    3. 1993
    4. 1994
    5. 1995
    6. 1996
    7. 1997
    8. 1998
    9. 1999
    10. 2000

    “1” marks the first year passing after the assumed date of the event the calendar’s based on.
    There is no zeroth year in the Gregorian calendar. That’s a fact.

  • You are wrong. This decade was the following ten years.
    1) 2000
    2) 2001
    3) 2002
    4) 2003
    5) 2004
    6) 2005
    7) 2006
    8) 2007
    9) 2008
    10) 2009

    The end of 2009 is the end of a ten year decade period, and 2010 begins the next decade.