Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm not persuaded. I know the argument, but against that is common usage and emotional resonance. The latter two win out.

Yet everyone but me is willing to expend the mental effort to figure out century numbering when it would be so much easier to lop off the last two digits.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Just to nitpick--the decade does not start until 2021-Jan-01. After all, there was no year 0 AD so the first decade was years 1 to 10 not 0 to 9. Much like the millenium started 2001-Jan-01. So your purchases from 2011-Jan-01 to 2020-Dec-31 are in this decade.

I agree about the millennium, but not about the decade. A decade can start whenever you like. The common usage is to group years by their starting digits, in which case the 2020s run from now to the end of 2029.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I agree about the millennium, but not about the decade. A decade can start whenever you like. The common usage is to group years by their starting digits, in which case the 2020s run from now to the end of 2029.

I agree that a decade is any 10 year interval and see no reason that would be any different for centuries and millennia.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I agree about the millennium, but not about the decade. A decade can start whenever you like. The common usage is to group years by their starting digits, in which case the 2020s run from now to the end of 2029.

It appears that you are arguing that a decade can be any group of 10 consecutive years which is correct. In which case, stating the current decade started on 2015-Jan-01 and ends on 2024-Dec-31 is valid. Or the last decade of Robert A. Heinlein's life was from May 9, 1979 to May 8, 1988.

What we seem to be arguing is if we want to count the years ordinally (21-30) or cardinally 20-29. I don't like cardinally since the fence post for that would result in a "decade" containing 9 years (0001-0009) since the Anno Domini system started at year 1 not year 0.

I realize that leaves me in a minority but been there before and will likely be there again. Hmmm... They'd Rather Be Right. Second winner of a Hugo for a novel.

[Kindleing]

Originally Posted by DNSB

What we seem to be arguing is if we want to count the years ordinally (21-30) or cardinally 20-29. I don't like cardinally since the fence post for that would result in a "decade" containing 9 years (0001-0009) since the Anno Domini system started at year 1 not year 0.

The Anno Domini system start has no relevance to the counting of an arbitrary 10 sequential years. Decades are not centuries and are not millennia. All of your examples are correct - those are all decades. When we refer to the "50s" we are commonly referring to the years 1950 to 1959. Year One was 1950 and 1959 was Year 10 of the "50s" decade. The same thing with "The Roaring 20s" meaning 1920 - 1929 and "The Gay 90s" meaning 1890 - 1899.

XKCD said it best:
https://xkcd.com/2249/

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

I don't see being light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek as being at odds with the purpose of the forum. One can be jocular in time and serious in intent.

No purchases yet this decade by me, either, but I've got $5 in exploding Kindle credit which I shall use in the next couple of weeks. Not to do so would be kooky.

I have to say that you have purchased eBooks this decade as the next decade doesn't start until 2021. We never had a year 0. So starting at year 1, the first decade is 1-10. The second decade started at year 11 and so on. We are still in the same decade that started in 2011. And 2000 was not the next century. That was 2001 hence why the book and movie was called 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm not persuaded. I know the argument, but against that is common usage and emotional resonance. The latter two win out.

In this case, emotions do not win over facts. In fact emotions are a big fail in this case.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Kindleing

The Anno Domini system start has no relevance to the counting of an arbitrary 10 sequential years. Decades are not centuries and are not millennia. All of your examples are correct - those are all decades. When we refer to the "50s" we are commonly referring to the years 1950 to 1959. Year One was 1950 and 1959 was Year 10 of the "50s" decade. The same thing with "The Roaring 20s" meaning 1920 - 1929 and "The Gay 90s" meaning 1890 - 1899.

XKCD said it best:
https://xkcd.com/2249/

DNSB said it best. You can't have the 80s or the 20s as a decade because of years 1-9 not being a decade. The math makes your reasoning impossible.

[Kindleing]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

DNSB said it best. You can't have the 80s or the 20s as a decade because of years 1-9 not being a decade. The math makes your reasoning impossible.

No - your bogus redefinition of the word "Decade" makes your math inconsistent with reality. The word "Decade" is not tied to any particular start date - or even specifically to years - and never has been. But since you are not likely to take my word for it, here are a couple of dictionary entries about the word "Decade":

From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decade
Definition of decade

1 : a group or set of 10
"his prisoners were divided into decades"
— William Godwin : such as

a : a period of 10 years
"has been teaching for over a decade"
"the decade of the twenties"

b Roman Catholicism : a division of the rosary that consists primarily of 10 Hail Marys

2 mathematics : a ratio of 10 to 1 : order of magnitude

If you don't like the Merriam-Webster version here's the definition from the Macmillan Dictionary:

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/...merican/decade

a period of ten years, especially one beginning with a year that ends in a 0, for example 1990 through 1999
in/over/during/within the past/last/next decade: Prices have risen sharply in the last decade.

[DNSB]

Perhaps a good old fashioned Roman style decimation would be helpful?

[MGlitch]

1BC-9AD is a decade
1BC-99AD is a century
1BC-999AD is a millennia

Remember time started before AD, if you’re grouping years in 10s, 100s, and 1,000s you don’t start from the middle you go all the way back to the start of existence and count in groups to where we are now.

[pdurrant]

Do I need to move this to P&R?

[pdurrant]

But let me jump in myself anyway.

The two hundred and second decade of the Common Era doesn't start until 1st January 2021
The 2020s started on 1st January 2020.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Kindleing

The Anno Domini system start has no relevance to the counting of an arbitrary 10 sequential years. Decades are not centuries and are not millennia. All of your examples are correct - those are all decades. When we refer to the "50s" we are commonly referring to the years 1950 to 1959. Year One was 1950 and 1959 was Year 10 of the "50s" decade. The same thing with "The Roaring 20s" meaning 1920 - 1929 and "The Gay 90s" meaning 1890 - 1899.

XKCD said it best:
https://xkcd.com/2249/

Yep. I'm happy to take the word of a physicist/roboticist who quotes MC Hammer as an authority.

That said, this whole debate is really best summed up by another xkcd classic, imo:

https://xkcd.com/386/

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Do I need to move this to P&R?

Very likely. We've moved rather far from the purpose of this thread.