In a matter of time: When does new decade begin?
He wears no flowing robe or beard, carries no scythe, nor hour glass. Here鈥檚 Dr. John Zimmerman, in jeans, sneakers and a sweatshirt printed with the Greek letter ?.
The man wearing the 鈥淧i-Lingual鈥� slogan is the go-to guy at Washington & Jefferson College when a reporter asks a question dealing with Father Time:
鈥淲hen does a new decade begin?鈥�
If you were counting on the answer being midnight or 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, count again.
On your fingers.
Zimmerman, 62, a professor who has a passion for the history of mathematics, described his reasoning:
Hold up both hands. Begin counting with the left pinky finger as one. Include the thumbs as numbers five and six, and end with the right pinky finger.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 start counting with zero, we start counting with one,鈥� Zimmerman said.
鈥淭he concept of, 鈥楬ow many?鈥� goes way back. How many people are in my tribe? How many spears do we need to take on our next hunting trip?
鈥�2020 will be the last year of the second decade of the 21st Century. The first day of third decade will Jan. 1, 2021.鈥�
Why even bother asking the question?
鈥淲e care for the calendar because historians need a precise way to record history. And we all have to agree. If we can鈥檛 agree when something begins or ends, that鈥檚 a problem.鈥�
Then a bit of confusion enters the picture. Zimmerman is not one to live in the past, so when we start jotting down 2020 or typing it, he鈥檚 not going to make the argument that we鈥檙e still in the teens, or that 20-year-olds are still teenagers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 okay to say we鈥檙e starting the 鈥�20s,鈥� when the ball drops in Times Square, Eastern Standard Time, Zimmerman opined.
Keep in mind, however, that calendars vary from culture to culture.
Judaism records the year 2019-20 that began this past September as 5780. Muslims are in the midst of 1441. The Chinese New Year doesn鈥檛 begin until Jan. 25.
鈥淐alendars are deeply rooted in culture,鈥� Zimmerman said, because they represent 鈥渢he sense of time, the passage of time and marking out the special events in our lives.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like your car odometer when the numbers change. It reminds you your car is getting older.鈥�