Peter Hullah wrote:
I think that, if you re-read what Chris said, he is of the same opinion as you - as are, probably, most clear thinking people and we probably don't need it spelt out in words of one syllable.
I'm sorry to have let off steam in the wrong forum and bored many people (grovel). I don't doubt that Chris is of the same general opinion as me. I'm afraid it triggered me off and I got carried away. But I hope you don't object to the use of words of one syllable in any context ;-) . Happy New Year to you too (no sarcasm intended). Eric Ulevik wrote:
Otherwise, the argument is that there was no year zero in the Julian calendar
I can't resist hammering this point: There is no modern-day obvious inevitability for a "year zero" in any calendar, just as there is no "day 0" at the beginning of a month or "month 0" at the beginning of a year (and I could list any number of other examples from very different contexts). Talk of a "year zero" is a red herring (though not a malicious or deliberate one). It is to my mind condescending and supercilious to belittle ancient calendar designers by claiming they didn't have a "concept of zero" - they probably did in fact, but they didn't need it. Well, that had better be the last I say on this topic here! _______________ Alex LIVINGSTON Macintosh Support Computing & IT (C&IT) Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA E-mail : alex@agsm.unsw.edu.au; cit@agsm.unsw.edu.au (C&IT) Facsimile: +61 2 9931-9349 Telephone: +61 2 9931-9264