{"id":5787,"date":"2016-06-20T21:38:24","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T16:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787"},"modified":"2016-06-20T21:38:24","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T16:08:24","slug":"the-final-countdown-so-is-2020-the-new-decade-or-nah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5787","title":{"rendered":"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?"},"content":{"rendered":"\nN<\/span>ew Year\u2019s Eve is the one time in the year when most people can get along. After 364 days of drudgery, comes an evening where work is off the menu, debauched entertainment is the main course, and the comforting myth that the next morning will bring a fresh start is the dessert. It\u2019s simple, uncomplicated fun, so of course people had to ruin it.\n\nThis year, <\/span>New Year\u2019s Eve<\/span><\/a> isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate, both online and in the real world \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. The debate isn\u2019t a run-of-the-mill one which unfolds every year \u2013 house party or a pub? \u2013 but one that rears its head only once every 10 years. The topic: Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?\n\nLook, to me this is pretty cut\u00a0 and dried. If we\u2019re going to be calling the coming decade the \u201920s in the future, then 2020 marks the start of the \u201920s. I\u2019m a simple guy, and I like a simple answer. But the decade debate doesn\u2019t have a simple answer, and that has provided fuel to a certain camp of people who enjoy being downers to point out that <\/span>actually<\/span><\/i>, according to scientific convention, the new decade will really begin on January 1, 2021. The logic (put here in the plainest terms) being that the calendar we follow doesn\u2019t begin with Year 0 but Year 1, hence a decade is completed at the end of Year 10.\n\nOf course, the type of people who enjoy going over the nitty-gritty of scientific convention do not overlap much with the type of people who enjoy a good party, so I\u2019m not surprised that there\u2019s a contingent out there to sabotage the \u201cEnd of the Decade\u201d bashes being planned in homes, <\/span>bars<\/span><\/a>, and nightclubs around the world. Now, based on the facts at hand, these party-poopers are technically correct, but like I said, the answer to the decade debate isn\u2019t a simple one.\n\n

The debate isn\u2019t a run-of-the-mill one which unfolds every year \u2013 house party or a pub? \u2013 but one that rears its head only once every 10 years.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nA New York Times report titled <\/span>\u201cWhen Does the New Decade Begin?\u201d<\/span><\/a> informs us that working with historical calendars isn\u2019t the only way designate when a decade begins. Emily Brewster, a senior editor at Merriam-Webster, is quoted in the report saying, \u201cIt is interesting that there is this arbitrariness\u2026 It\u2019s unconventional, like language.\u201d According to Brewster, a decade in popular culture is not defined by scientific convention. Because of this, the 2020s will begin on January 1, 2020, and end on December 31, 2029.\n\nIf both interpretations are valid, why are the calendar nuts clinging to the driftwood of their imagined intellectual superiority instead of climbing on board the boat hosting the biggest party in 10 years with the rest of us? Their points been made \u2013 we now know who the most pedantic person in our friend circle, office team, and <\/span>WhatsApp group<\/span><\/a> is, which I imagine was the point they were trying to make.\n\nAt this point, I\u2019m reminded of Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The man is a famous astrophysicist, the holder of multiple degrees, and much smarter than us humble folk, but is still mostly famous for being that guy who annoys everyone by surfacing on New Year\u2019s Eve to remind people how pointless it is to celebrate an arbitrary point in the Earth\u2019s rotation around the Sun. He\u2019s been doing it for most of the decade, going as far back as 2011, and judging by the replies he gets on Twitter, most people are sick of his shtick. People dread Neil DeGrasse Tyson\u2019s tweets on New Year\u2019s as much as they fear the time our PM says he has an announcement to make. So what the people standing in the way of everyone bringing in 2020 with a grand End of the Decade party need to do is take a good, long, hard look at themselves and ask themselves if they want to be that guy.\n\nThey\u2019re fighting a losing battle anyway. Some of us have been here before, and we know how this debate goes. When the new millennium was around the corner, there was a similar debate over whether it began in 2000 or 2001. Of course, anyone who remembers the hype around Y2K will tell you that the people rooting for the millennium to begin in 2000 won the day. Once people get wound up about an upcoming celebration, it\u2019s better to let them have it, unless you want to end up with the aftermath of a cancelled <\/span>Metallica<\/span><\/a> concert in Delhi. That\u2019s the power of a well-hyped party. And on January 1, 2020, it shall prevail again.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":5788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[9724,1238,2020],"class_list":["post-5787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pov","tag-decade","tag-new-years-eve","tag-war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-20T16:08:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575556483-1024x573.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"573\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dushyant Shekhawat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dushyant Shekhawat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\"},\"headline\":\"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-20T16:08:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787\"},\"wordCount\":814,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575556483.png\",\"keywords\":[\"decade\",\"New Year\u2019s Eve\",\"War for the Planet of the Apes\"],\"articleSection\":[\"POV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787\",\"name\":\"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575556483.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-20T16:08:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\"},\"description\":\"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575556483.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575556483.png\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=5787#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\",\"name\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=43\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?","description":"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?","og_description":"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-06-20T16:08:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":573,"url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575556483-1024x573.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Dushyant Shekhawat","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?","twitter_description":"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dushyant Shekhawat","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787"},"author":{"name":"Dushyant Shekhawat","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db"},"headline":"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?","datePublished":"2016-06-20T16:08:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787"},"wordCount":814,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575556483.png","keywords":["decade","New Year\u2019s Eve","War for the Planet of the Apes"],"articleSection":["POV"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787","name":"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575556483.png","datePublished":"2016-06-20T16:08:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db"},"description":"This year, New Year\u2019s Eve isn\u2019t just the biggest party on the calendar, it\u2019s also fodder for a heated debate \u2013 a debate that has driven a wedge between logic and emotion. Is January 1, 2020 the start of a new decade, or not?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575556483.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575556483.png","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5787#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Final Countdown: So is 2020 the New Decade or Nah?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db","name":"Dushyant Shekhawat","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dushyant Shekhawat"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=43"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575556483.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}