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conuly
Get it through your heads! There is no year 0!
We can sit here and banter logical arguments both for and against the existence of a zeroth year until we get sick and die, but the fact is that in our calendar, it simply doesn't exist, and logic (or not) be damned. Why? Because the people who invented our calendar, the early Christians, didn't have the concept of the number zero to begin with, so they surely weren't going to use it in their reckoning of time! Arabic numerals, remember? Invented by... well, by people who weren't Arab, if I recall correctly, but regardless, not imported into our part of the world until years, years, YEARS after the start of the Christian calendar.
When it comes to us, we reckon our own ages the same way. Before I was born, we were in the era BC (before Connie!). After I was born, we entered into the first year of my life. The anniversary of that blessed event was my first birthday, whereupon I began my second year of life.
Oh, and the common era? It kinda begins with the presumed birth of Jesus. Yeah, I know, the odds of him actually having been born when old tradition apparently held is beyond tiny, but all the same, the guy didn't die when we started our calendar. That'd be rather inauspicious, wouldn't it? (Except not, because his death was a good thing, even though the people historically* considered responsible for that deed (yes, I mean you!) were considered *bad* for helping this *good* thing to occur, which Jesus had already said would happen, implying a predestination... Theology's clearly not my strong suit.)
*I've never understood *that* part either. Even if I accepted that you could be blamed for something you, personally, hadn't done (and I suppose that once you accept the concept of original sin, it's not that big a stretch to accept that every last Jewish person alive at any point in history was to be personally blamed for Jesus dying), wouldn't the blame go on the Romans or something instead? In this case, it's not, I think, theology that's not my strong suit, but prejudice. Which suits me just fine.
We can sit here and banter logical arguments both for and against the existence of a zeroth year until we get sick and die, but the fact is that in our calendar, it simply doesn't exist, and logic (or not) be damned. Why? Because the people who invented our calendar, the early Christians, didn't have the concept of the number zero to begin with, so they surely weren't going to use it in their reckoning of time! Arabic numerals, remember? Invented by... well, by people who weren't Arab, if I recall correctly, but regardless, not imported into our part of the world until years, years, YEARS after the start of the Christian calendar.
When it comes to us, we reckon our own ages the same way. Before I was born, we were in the era BC (before Connie!). After I was born, we entered into the first year of my life. The anniversary of that blessed event was my first birthday, whereupon I began my second year of life.
Oh, and the common era? It kinda begins with the presumed birth of Jesus. Yeah, I know, the odds of him actually having been born when old tradition apparently held is beyond tiny, but all the same, the guy didn't die when we started our calendar. That'd be rather inauspicious, wouldn't it? (Except not, because his death was a good thing, even though the people historically* considered responsible for that deed (yes, I mean you!) were considered *bad* for helping this *good* thing to occur, which Jesus had already said would happen, implying a predestination... Theology's clearly not my strong suit.)
*I've never understood *that* part either. Even if I accepted that you could be blamed for something you, personally, hadn't done (and I suppose that once you accept the concept of original sin, it's not that big a stretch to accept that every last Jewish person alive at any point in history was to be personally blamed for Jesus dying), wouldn't the blame go on the Romans or something instead? In this case, it's not, I think, theology that's not my strong suit, but prejudice. Which suits me just fine.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-11 08:12 am (UTC)there could be no 0th year of their 'lord'. there was a first year, and a second year, and so on. they got their maths wrong, but what the heck. you do better in a big old building somewhere by candle light using crushed rock, water, some goats skin and a stick.
the concept of nothing existed, but the idea of having some representation for nothing just didn't makes sense to europeans. not until they encountered the mathematics and engineering being used by their opponents/captives/captors/trading partners during & between crusades ...