If we evolved to have any other number of fingers, the Base-10 system probably wouldn't be nearly as popular. amirite?

In ancient Sumeria the base count was 24. You would use your thumb to count each of the 3 segments of each finger.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

This is far superior to base 10

by Anonymous 4 years ago

chernobyl survivor enters the chat

by Anonymous 4 years ago

If we hadn't invented shoes, we might be base-20

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Aztecs were base 20

by Anonymous 4 years ago

They wore sandals, makes sense

by Anonymous 4 years ago

As were early Francs.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Yeah. I can totally see the supervisors counting while crouching in your alternate timeline.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

So if an alien civilization with an alternative number of limbs exists, it would probably use a base-x system based on their number of limbs. That's awesome!

by Anonymous 4 years ago

But... it's always base-10 ...

by Anonymous 4 years ago

No...it's always *DNS* ...

by Anonymous 4 years ago

I read up somewhere that a base 12 system qould simplify a lot of things

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Many civilisations used base-12, and we even still do - for time. Older measurement systems often used base 12 too - easy to divide, easy for anyone to learn and talk about... The French tried to push decimal metric system for time too, but that never caught on.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Base 10 is overrated anyway. Base 12 is FAR superior

by Anonymous 4 years ago

By at least Base 2, anyway

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Found the Psychlo.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

What's that?

by Anonymous 4 years ago

All your base belong to us.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

I still think that having measurements based off a system of tens is best. Tens are easily scalable. ie grams to kilograms is a multiplier of ten. Just move the decimal point.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

This would work the same way with 12s if it was in base 12. Or anything else in its respective base. That's how bases work Unless I'm missing something and you're just generally praising metric

by Anonymous 4 years ago

I have a hard time imagining how it would look like. Would base 12 have 12 distinct numbers like 0123456789¥£ and then 10?

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Yes, exactly.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Yes. I'm not sure how base twelve enthusiasts do it, but you could keep the names ten and eleven and then use "dozen" or "twelve" for 10 (this is not a base ten ten, it's a base twelve dozen.) "one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven dozen dozen-one dozen-two dozen-three" etc. I think some people have come up with symbols that they like to use for ten and eleven.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

The common way is to just use letters. In hexadecimal (base-16) for example, we go 0123456789ABCDEF. And then you end up with perfectly valid numbers like FAC (f hundred aty-c).

by Anonymous 4 years ago

I love pronouncing hex numbers like that to colleagues. Always throws them for a loop. Also, FAC you, too, man! 😡

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Metric is designed around decimal because that's what a vast majority of people use. If the most common base was hexadecimal, metric would be designed to easily convert in there.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

Bro.

by Anonymous 4 years ago

So you've been reading Project Hail Mary….

by Anonymous 4 years ago