you say Jan 1, 2011 is the start of the next decade.
The mistake was made once in the first century, which had only 99 years
Actually, I first said, "as we go into another decade" and then said the other thing in an effort to forestall posts by those who know better. If I had just picked one position, people on the other side were bound to reply. I thought I had my bases covered.
The only mistake made was to think that ANY century had only 99 years. By definition, a century is 100 years in length. BECAUSE there was no year 0 (zero), the first year had to be 1. That century ended at the end of year 100 - the completion of 100 years - so the next century HAD to begin at year 101. Therefore, EVERY century has to end in a year ending with 0 and begin in a year ending with a 1.
Cosmetically, I agree that it looks better to begin a century with a year that ends in 0, especially at the turn of millennia, but realistically/mathematically, it's just not true.
Here's the difference:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
10-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9
How do YOU count?
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