Black Ink

Over the last few days, a number of clever people of my acquaintance have been espousing contradictory views about whether or not we’re in a new decade. One group has been pointing out, quite rightly, that the millennium and the century both started on Jan 1st 2001, and it hasn’t been a decade since then, so obviously, the decade isn’t over. The other group, equally rightly, has been saying that the noughties were quite clearly over, that there was now a one in the tens column of the year, and we must be a in a new decade. Obviously, both groups couldn’t be right…

Me, I like to know what the technically correct answer is, even when I don’t agree with it, so I actually went off and did some research. Here’s what I found.

In the Gregorian (and Julian, for any serious eccentrics in the audience) centuries and millennia are measured from 1 AD, because there wasn’t a 0 AD, for obvious reasons. However, there actually isn’t any sort of official statement regarding the measurement of decades. As nearly as I can find out, while the term century does literally mean “01 to 100″, the term decade does not have a specific meaning of 01-00, it simply means “a span of ten years”. So, for example, it is quite acceptable usage to say “in the decade that followed after 1983″, meaning “1984-1993″, whereas it would not be acceptable to say “in the century after 1871″ – you’d say instead “in the hundred years after 1871″.

The reasoning appears to be that centuries and millennia refer to specific, never-going-to-be-repeated chunks of time, specifically measured from what several major religions claim was the year of Christ’s birth – it’s why we’re in the 21st century, even though the calendar says “20″ at the front of it. We’re never going to see the 3rd century again, nor the first millennium. But there are people on the planet today for whom this is their second time around in the tens, even if it does look a bit different this time round.

So, yes, we’re in a new decade. We are in a new decade every single year. It’s just that we’re also in a new frame of reference now.

Yes, if for some peculiar reason you wish to talk about how many decades have passed since the alleged birth of Jesus Christ, we’re still in the 210th, and we won’t move into the 211th until next year. But if on the other hand, you wish to know if we’re in the tens or the noughties, I suggest you consult a calendar, and conclude the obvious, that the noughties ended a few days ago, and that if you haven’t yet done your decade in review post, then now’s the time.

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