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Every base is base 10 (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (14 children)

Why base 12 though? Base 16 is even better. And base 60 is even better than that!

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago (11 children)

Common denominators. You can divide base 12 into half, thirds, fourths, and sixths and still use integers. I find thirds to be particularly useful, so base 16 is out. Base 60 can do it, but that's getting unweildly.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (9 children)

Can't do base 12 on fingers. I prefer base 8.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (2 children)

You can do base 12 on fingers! You count each of the 3 segments on each finger and ignore the thumb (you can use it to keep your place), so you can count up to 12 on just one hand! :)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

This is why I'm not totally sold on the idea that we use base 10 because we have 10 fingers. There are a lot of ways to count with your fingers. Plus, there are many cultures throughout human history that use something else. Base 10 in modern times might just be a historical quirk.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

iirc, the reason that time is base 60 is because some ancient peoples figured out how to count to 60 on their fingers.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I can count to 1023 using both hands but only to 31 using one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Some societies used base 27 from counting body parts. Sumeria famously used base 60. It’s why minutes and hours are divided by 60

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