The fix is to visualize years as loops in a spiral. One loop per year.
Spiral visually implies years getting bigger or shorter which they don't.
I get that some people want to show the periodicity of years but there's no such thing.
What's actually periodical and wraps around is only the names we give to certain lengths of time -- not time itself, be it years, centuries or what have you.
> What's actually periodical and wraps around is only the names we give to certain lengths of time
Seasons are somewhat cyclic, to be fair. Centuries are pretty arbitrary though.
> Spiral visually implies years getting bigger or shorter which they don't.
Proper spirals imply a size change, but I suspect GP meant the shape more properly called "helix".
Why would it be a "circle of doghnut"? The year doesn't roll back in itself, January 2017 does not approach December 2016.
Rather a year is just a particular segment on an (endless) line...