Why (western) humans use the decimal system?
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Is it really because we have ten fingers? Would it then not be more logical to use then a system based on 11?:confused: :laugh: Btw: I'm Aware, it took a longer time to recognize that "Zero" also exists. From what I remember it was somebody from India who recognized this fact first. [Edit] Try to imagine we would have only one finger...
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
I have nothing to add, just wanted to say that this is a great example of why I like this place. i. Interesting questions ii. Lot's of really smart people here with intelligent or humorous (both entertaining) answers ..even on a weekend! :)
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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I have nothing to add, just wanted to say that this is a great example of why I like this place. i. Interesting questions ii. Lot's of really smart people here with intelligent or humorous (both entertaining) answers ..even on a weekend! :)
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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[Because every base is base 10](https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c9468c7f3d7bcef7b0f2d0fdf83328d4)
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There is some very interesting speculation about west-to-east (from Egypt) cultural transmission of iconography and the mathematical basis for weights and measures in this book on the weights of Burma (now Myanmar): Note: CP editor is not displaying pasted in links as expected ... https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Heaven-Animal-Shaped-Weights-Burmese/dp/9747551209 It's an out-of print book for a specialist, and ridiculously expensive, now. And, frustrating to read because some very grandiose theories are proposed, but sources are not annotated satisfactorily.
«... thank the gods that they have made you superior to those events which they have not placed within your own control, rendered you accountable for that only which is within you own control For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which is alone in your own power—a right use of things as they appear.» Discourses of Epictetus Book I:12
Earth to Heaven: The Royal Animal-Shaped Weights of the Burmese Empire: Joan Gear, Donald Gear: 9789747551204: Amazon.com: Books[^] To Format a link I'm usually go to Q/A, paste the link into an answer, copy the formated preview and cancel answering. This works reliable most (all the) times.
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
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There is some very interesting speculation about west-to-east (from Egypt) cultural transmission of iconography and the mathematical basis for weights and measures in this book on the weights of Burma (now Myanmar): Note: CP editor is not displaying pasted in links as expected ... https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Heaven-Animal-Shaped-Weights-Burmese/dp/9747551209 It's an out-of print book for a specialist, and ridiculously expensive, now. And, frustrating to read because some very grandiose theories are proposed, but sources are not annotated satisfactorily.
«... thank the gods that they have made you superior to those events which they have not placed within your own control, rendered you accountable for that only which is within you own control For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which is alone in your own power—a right use of things as they appear.» Discourses of Epictetus Book I:12
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0x01AA wrote:
explain what you are discussing
Re-read the title of your post, then re-read the links in my post. If you're still confused, don't feel you need to tell me :)
«... thank the gods that they have made you superior to those events which they have not placed within your own control, rendered you accountable for that only which is within you own control For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which is alone in your own power—a right use of things as they appear.» Discourses of Epictetus Book I:12
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Jörgen Andersson wrote:
The danes and the french does.
En est tu certain ?
Patrice “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Albert Einstein
70 = soixante-dix 80 = quatre-vingts 90 = quatre-vingt-dix And danish: 50 = halvtreds 60 = tres 70 = halvfjerds 80 = firs 90 = halvfems In Paris you have (Or had) l’Hôpital des Quinze-Vingts, which used to have 300 beds. Mostly remnants today, the Swizz (and if I recall correctly the Belgians) have gone full decimal. Switzerland uses septante for 70, octante or huitante for 80 and nonante for 90 In english there are small rests of it too: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (The Gettysberg Address, 1863)
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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70 = soixante-dix 80 = quatre-vingts 90 = quatre-vingt-dix And danish: 50 = halvtreds 60 = tres 70 = halvfjerds 80 = firs 90 = halvfems In Paris you have (Or had) l’Hôpital des Quinze-Vingts, which used to have 300 beds. Mostly remnants today, the Swizz (and if I recall correctly the Belgians) have gone full decimal. Switzerland uses septante for 70, octante or huitante for 80 and nonante for 90 In english there are small rests of it too: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (The Gettysberg Address, 1863)
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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I am often surprised by my contributions :laugh:
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
0x01AA wrote:
am often surprised by my contributions
I think that is one of the most wonderful "features" of this great site, and the remarkable people on it ! What could be better than to learn things we did not know we did not know ? :) cheers, Bill
«... thank the gods that they have made you superior to those events which they have not placed within your own control, rendered you accountable for that only which is within you own control For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which is alone in your own power—a right use of things as they appear.» Discourses of Epictetus Book I:12
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70 = soixante-dix 80 = quatre-vingts 90 = quatre-vingt-dix And danish: 50 = halvtreds 60 = tres 70 = halvfjerds 80 = firs 90 = halvfems In Paris you have (Or had) l’Hôpital des Quinze-Vingts, which used to have 300 beds. Mostly remnants today, the Swizz (and if I recall correctly the Belgians) have gone full decimal. Switzerland uses septante for 70, octante or huitante for 80 and nonante for 90 In english there are small rests of it too: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (The Gettysberg Address, 1863)
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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Hi, Found a peer-review of the book[^]. It looks interesting. Best Wishes, -David Delaune
Hi, If you really want this book, let me know ... while I don't think it has ever been digitized, once in a while I find a copy in a Chiang Mai used book store for cheap. I disagree with both the reviews currently on Amazon :) cheers, Bill
«... thank the gods that they have made you superior to those events which they have not placed within your own control, rendered you accountable for that only which is within you own control For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which is alone in your own power—a right use of things as they appear.» Discourses of Epictetus Book I:12
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We count in base 10, but some names remain from the past. :-D The dozen is still in little usage: 2 dozen eggs
Patrice “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Albert Einstein
I understand it's a leftover from the Celts.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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Is it really because we have ten fingers? Would it then not be more logical to use then a system based on 11?:confused: :laugh: Btw: I'm Aware, it took a longer time to recognize that "Zero" also exists. From what I remember it was somebody from India who recognized this fact first. [Edit] Try to imagine we would have only one finger...
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
I can think that Zero does not offer much trade use? You either trade or not. If i give you 10 for somthing of 5 value, you give me 5 back. but if i give you 10 for something of 10 value, you don't give me anything back. Nothing/Zero is similar. - yes its zero, but for the purpose of the trade, nothing. contrast with mathematics, 2x0 - not sure what trade situation except the trader turns up with nothing to trade. I'm not going to work out some maths to know he aint got anything to trade.
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We count in base 10, but some names remain from the past. :-D The dozen is still in little usage: 2 dozen eggs
Patrice “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Albert Einstein
The dozen, I suspect, is also based on fingers. It's a system that emanates from East Anglia.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Earth to Heaven: The Royal Animal-Shaped Weights of the Burmese Empire: Joan Gear, Donald Gear: 9789747551204: Amazon.com: Books[^] To Format a link I'm usually go to Q/A, paste the link into an answer, copy the formated preview and cancel answering. This works reliable most (all the) times.
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
There is a known bug with link paste currently being reported on the Buggs%Suggs forum.
«... thank the gods that they have made you superior to those events which they have not placed within your own control, rendered you accountable for that only which is within you own control For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which is alone in your own power—a right use of things as they appear.» Discourses of Epictetus Book I:12
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Is it really because we have ten fingers? Would it then not be more logical to use then a system based on 11?:confused: :laugh: Btw: I'm Aware, it took a longer time to recognize that "Zero" also exists. From what I remember it was somebody from India who recognized this fact first. [Edit] Try to imagine we would have only one finger...
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
11 is far from logical. Afterall, using an 11-based system would exclude roughly half of the population from counting.
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The dozen, I suspect, is also based on fingers. It's a system that emanates from East Anglia.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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I have nothing to add, just wanted to say that this is a great example of why I like this place. i. Interesting questions ii. Lot's of really smart people here with intelligent or humorous (both entertaining) answers ..even on a weekend! :)
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
-
Is it really because we have ten fingers? Would it then not be more logical to use then a system based on 11?:confused: :laugh: Btw: I'm Aware, it took a longer time to recognize that "Zero" also exists. From what I remember it was somebody from India who recognized this fact first. [Edit] Try to imagine we would have only one finger...
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
It's hard to see the past with future knowledge. There were 2 concepts. COUNTING, which everyone had to learn how to do. And NOBODY bothered COUNTING ZERO of something. Does a cow farmer record ZERO Sheep, ZERO Goats, etc... Nope, he counts cows... And if the count is ZERO... I am certain he is in PANIC mode. LOL The other concept was MATH. And that is where ZERO is a strict requirement. And we learn numbers first, then math to this day, but we learn more math sooner. Also, I have a daughter, I remember teaching her to count. I can't remember teaching her to start at ZERO. == Here is something interesting about the NAMES for our numbers. Which are NOT good names in English. Because we USED to use BASE 12. The repetition parallel naming starts at 21 (21, 31, 41). But not 11 (which should be tenny-one, or ten-1 or One-teen [best]... Indicating 10 Plus one) But because we used to be base 12 (12 inches in a foot, 12 in dozen, etc)... the TEENS start at 13. Also, implied... Many people were counting much passed this. And mathematically speaking... Base 12 was superior. It divides by 2,3 and 4. Something 10 cannot do without decimals. And don't get me started with decimals. try that in ROMAN Numerals. In fact, division of Roman Numerals (without converting to decimal in your head), takes YEARS to master. So, now we realize we have COUNTING, MATH, and REPRESENTATION... The last one becomes important. How many times have you seen someone open and close their hands to tell you a bigger number like 20, or 30... Do that using Hexadecimal Representation. LOL...
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It's hard to see the past with future knowledge. There were 2 concepts. COUNTING, which everyone had to learn how to do. And NOBODY bothered COUNTING ZERO of something. Does a cow farmer record ZERO Sheep, ZERO Goats, etc... Nope, he counts cows... And if the count is ZERO... I am certain he is in PANIC mode. LOL The other concept was MATH. And that is where ZERO is a strict requirement. And we learn numbers first, then math to this day, but we learn more math sooner. Also, I have a daughter, I remember teaching her to count. I can't remember teaching her to start at ZERO. == Here is something interesting about the NAMES for our numbers. Which are NOT good names in English. Because we USED to use BASE 12. The repetition parallel naming starts at 21 (21, 31, 41). But not 11 (which should be tenny-one, or ten-1 or One-teen [best]... Indicating 10 Plus one) But because we used to be base 12 (12 inches in a foot, 12 in dozen, etc)... the TEENS start at 13. Also, implied... Many people were counting much passed this. And mathematically speaking... Base 12 was superior. It divides by 2,3 and 4. Something 10 cannot do without decimals. And don't get me started with decimals. try that in ROMAN Numerals. In fact, division of Roman Numerals (without converting to decimal in your head), takes YEARS to master. So, now we realize we have COUNTING, MATH, and REPRESENTATION... The last one becomes important. How many times have you seen someone open and close their hands to tell you a bigger number like 20, or 30... Do that using Hexadecimal Representation. LOL...