Q1.
For example, 560 BCE is an approximate year of birth of Gautama Buddha (whom we will meet in Chapter 7). Can you calculate how many years ago that was?
Answer
Yes — but only if you remember the catch that the very next box on page 63 explains: there is no year zero. So you add the two numbers and then subtract 1.
Years ago = (BCE year) + (current CE year) – 1
Taking the book's year, 2024 CE:
= 560 + 2024 – 1
= 2584 – 1
= 2,583 years ago
Taking the book's year, 2024 CE:
= 560 + 2024 – 1
= 2584 – 1
= 2,583 years ago
Check the answer by walking the line:
From 560 BCE to 1 BCE = 560 – 1 = 559 years
From 1 BCE to 1 CE = 1 year (there is no year 0 in between)
From 1 CE to 2024 CE = 2024 – 1 = 2023 years
Total = 559 + 1 + 2023 = 2,583 ✓
From 1 BCE to 1 CE = 1 year (there is no year 0 in between)
From 1 CE to 2024 CE = 2024 – 1 = 2023 years
Total = 559 + 1 + 2023 = 2,583 ✓
Try this: the same sum with a different “now”. In 2026 CE the Buddha's birth was 560 + 2026 – 1 = 2,585 years ago. The answer grows by exactly one every year, which is a good way to check you have not slipped.
Why subtract 1? If you simply add 560 + 2024 you are counting the changeover year twice — once as “1 BCE” and once as “1 CE”. Subtracting 1 removes that double count. Forgetting it is the single most common mistake in BCE–CE arithmetic.