Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 01:08:45 -0600 From: "G. Adam Stanislav" <adam@whizkidtech.net> To: dg@root.com Cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: So, what do we call the 00's? Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.19991205010845.0098fcf0@mail85.pair.com> In-Reply-To: <199912040737.XAA08969@implode.root.com> References: <Your message of "Sat, 04 Dec 1999 00:25:44 MST." <199912040725.AAA62727@panzer.kdm.org>
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At 23:37 03-12-1999 -0800, David Greenman wrote: > I've heard this argument before (about years starting at 1), but I think >it is wrong. The calander is supposedly based on the birthdate of Christ. The keyword is "supposedly". It has since been determined that he was not born at the "start of the calendar" so it is a moot point. There indeed was no year 0, as any book describing the Julian Date algorithm affirms. The 20th Century started on 01-01-1901. The 21st Century starts on 01-01-2001. That alone does not make the upcoming year 2000 any less special. Not because it starts a new millenium but because in the mid 20th Century people were looking forward to it as the time by when all our problems will be solved. When I was a school kid, my teachers often said that such and such thing was not possible yet, but it surely would be in the year 2000. The science fiction stories of the 1950's often took place in the year 2000. That is, until Space Odyssey which was placed in 2001. And that makes me very sad: In the 1960's the prospect of far space travel in 2001 seemed quite realistic. But for that to happen, it would take a lot of effort these days! That's sad. On the other hand, in the 1960's it also seemed realistic human race would not live to see 2000 because of an impending nuclear holocaust. That did not happen, and is not likely to happen anymore. And thank goodness for that! Still possible, mind you, but not likely. Cheers, Adam To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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