Just Post

673 readers

42 users here now

Just post something 💛

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

643

This is a bigger culture shock than the metric vs imperial system to me. (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

316 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (3 children)

More or less everybody except US and Russia has zero floor, counting in big office buildings is fun: 3,2,1,-1,-2, I know... The concept of a number zero is not that old (couple hundred years, don't remember the details), but should be enough to update your language :-*

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 months ago (1 children)

0 is a couple of centuries old?!?!!!!?

You may want to check that one out, you may be missing a zero somewhere there...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Let me Google that for you:

early mentionetd of the concept of void in India Like 2k years ago*
"In the 9th century, during the intellectual flourishing of the Islamic Golden Age, zero became fully integrated into mathematics. "*
adoption to Europe around 12th century*

Yes ok, a couple more than a could, but definitively not an order of magnitude...

https://www.diplomacy.edu/blog/origins-of-zero-a-fascinating-story-of-science-and-spirituality-across-civilisations/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That is literally an order of magnitude

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

If you choose to believe so, I'm not gonna argue on that.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

We usually do B1, B2 etc. for "basement levels" rather than negative numbers. But if there's just one then it's usually "basement" with no number.

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

We count the same as the US in Norway

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Interesting, in Denmark we count the same as the Brits

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

I see. Weird that our so similar languages differ like this. But our counting systems are also vastly different, so maybe it isn't so weird anyway?

Sometimes we can have the entrance in a basement which would then be denoted as the basement and not the first floor. I guess the basement example is when what the british names ground floor is partially underground. In all other cases our first floor is where the main entrance is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Therefore "more or less" ;) of course I didn't make a study on it, just traveled a bunch of countries and only in thosei noticed it... Needing to add that this is not something that would jump in my eye first time I visit a county.

On a side note: in Germany, we use the -2, -1, 0, 1, 2 scheme, bit most of the times they write it more clear with: 1. OG (first upper floor), EG (ground floor), 1. UG (First lower floor). I think "upper" and "lower" is not a good translation, but I'm now to tired to think of someone better suiting

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Kind of, yes, but I feel the Norwegian word "etasje" is better translated to "storey" than "floor". Taking that translation, we're saying "first storey, second storey, etc." rather than "first floor, second floor, etc." which I guess everybody can agree makes sense.