Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke
The question starts at the first year, 1 AD. The year before that was 1 BC. No year 0. So technically, 10 AD is the last year of the first decade. The public, however, sees it differently by consensus.
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As others have said, this is correct^. By this reasoning,
2000 was not the beginning of the 21st century as the public recognizes,
2001 marked the beginning of the
current century.
However, when speaking of "decades", which are simply blocks of time that can
begin or end whenever one wishes, we are dealing with a different numbering system--one which can include "0."
To be accurate, the
first decade of the "2000s" would be the years of 2000-2009, the second decade would be 2010-2019, and the third decade would start in 2020.
If you wish to speak of the
decades of the 21st century though, the years would be marked differently. The first decade of the 21st century was 2001-2010, the second was (is) 2011-2020, and the third begins in 2021.
Just like language usage, the public acceptance of "violations" of rules determine what is commonly accepted, and now it is commonly accepted that the new century begins on the "0" year and the new decade also begins on the "0" year.
So, to answer wdfifteen's original question,
2020 is the last year of the second decade of the 21st century.