A lil' math
Posted on January 5, 2010 with 0 commentsI got quite some responses to my new year's greeting, (like for example a lady whom I have met only once, 6 years ago, phoning me from Germany and offering her place to stay, if I am ever around that area...), and a few people (amongst my friend a professor of the Hungarian Academy of Science) suggested a little correction: that the new decade does not start with 2010 but with 2011.
Yes my friends, you are completely right! That's what I knew too, and I was a bit confused about seeing all the big fuzz in the media and advertisements, tv etc programs, summarizing the old decade and welcoming the new one, so just to be sure, I asked an expert: my son has high level mathemathics at a very good school, studying it in English, and doing alright (I think I can brag a bit :-))
And he sad: Mom, it's really simple: of course a new decade starts with year xxx1, but there is a common agreement about starting it now, because of the round number. Just think of it: it would have sounded weird to name year 2001 The Big Year, instead of 2000...
Yeah that's true: Y2K sounds cool, but how would it be with Y2K&1? Strange, wouldn't it?
And this is my guess: it is much easier to market top lists, top stories etc in the media and merchandise in shops with round figures than with more complicated ones, like 1981 or 2031, etc. Yep, money talks.
So right, we did NOT start the new decade yet, just as a child does not begin the second decade of his life when he just filled 9...
Sorry, if I made anyone more confused about this, hope it's clear now...
And probably this was the only case when I ever followed the mainstream media :-))
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