Ouch.

[Jona Lendering]

Counting is difficult. Let's hope the people at the ASCS know more about classics.

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

It's the school system here... Outcome based education. If you believe it so, then it is.

2 + 5 + 4 = a whole bunch!

Subtracting them numbers is much harder, you know.

Ralph

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Seems the media went to the same maths classes....they always round up or down or sideways to make a statement! :roll:

[Doc]

Jona,

Am I missing something in the title? Is the battle not 490 BC?

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

Ooops! I think Paolo is right. I had it in my head that it was 487. Oh well, I went to an American school, so I have an excuse to not get thing right.

ralph

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Ooops! I think Paolo is right. I had it in my head that it was 487. Oh well, I went to an American school, so I have an excuse to not get thing right.

ralph

Hmm, I was thinking 480, but that would be Thermopolae, right? :roll:

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

Maybe we should all go and hang or heads in shame (except Paolo) for not getting this right, this being a History forum and all.

Ralph
(Duh!)

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hey, its late!! Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!! :oops: :oops:

[Matthew Amt]

Hmm, except that there is no "Year Zero", so don't we have to subtract one? 490 BC to 2010 AD would then be 2499... (Plus shipping and handling...) All I really remember is that the 21st century started in 2001--I can never get the math right beyond that!

Matthew

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

ok
MMX + CDXC = ??

Nah! Can't be done...

Ralph

[Doc]

Yep,

Matt is correct. However, it is not even a remotely significant difference to ridicule the ad. Even it its 3 years off, in the vast oceans of time, it has no real significance. Besides, 2500 sounds more official than 2499 or 2497. Technically if you really want to be in the ball park without being off then approximately should be used.

Approximately 2500 years since the battle of Marathon. This too sounds corny thus 2500 is born.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Or to be real vauge...something sort of life changing happened in Ancient Greece, about 2500 years ago. :mrgreen:

[Jona Lendering]

Hmm, except that there is no "Year Zero"

Yes. If one person would make the mistake - fine. Nobody is perfect, everyone can be absentminded. But this is an institution. There are many very intelligent people working over there, and they must have staff meetings. They have all been sleeping.

[Doc]

Jona,

I am a professor of Organic Chemistry and thus agree with correctness and precision. However, if you agree with Matt and they are off only by one year, is it really a big deal in the grand scheme of things? I would hope that during the lecture the issue of no year zero would be mentioned and any confusion dispelled. Nonetheless, most people would make 2,499 into 2,500 anyway.

[Jona Lendering]

if you agree with Matt and they are off only by one year, is it really a big deal in the grand scheme of things?

If you plan a commemoration, yes, you must do it on the correct date. Imagine what an uproar it would have caused if, say, the USA had commemorated it 200th anniversary in 1975 or 1977.

I would hope that during the lecture the issue of no year zero would be mentioned and any confusion dispelled.

They should, although it is pretty rare that scholars actually admit a mistake. I was forced to do so last week (more, more), and was surprised/shocked to hear that most archaeologists are happy when they're in the newspapers, and that it doesn't matter to them whether their information is correct.