Yeah I haven't really researched it much tbh, but I'm sure I've heard before that it was at least a theory that there was an ancient base 12. It does seem like an obvious explanation for the names of 11 and 12, but then I guess that's not good enough evidence.
Wow that's impressive that you figured out the duodecimal system and its benefits when you were a kid, I only read about it much later. It is so fundamental a subject, to think about different ways to count, that most people wouldn't even consider there could be any better way to count than our base 10, hence the obscurity of the vastly superior duodecimal system (this is also probably why the Roman numerals stuck around so long, no one questioned them).
Yeah it would make maths so much easier alright. I did actually realise myself that thing about the third's infinitely repeating 3, without just reading it. Like, a quarter in the base 10 is bad, but it's not completely awful. Yeah a quarter of ten isn't a whole number (2.5), but at least a quarter of 100 and of 1,000 is (25 and 250). But no matter what power of 10 you use, a third of it will never be a whole number because of the infinitely repeating 3.
One everyday real-life example where this really sucks is for anniversaries. The important anniversaries are usually fractions of 100 or 1,000 years. A half of 100 years and 1,000 years is 50 and 500, so the 50th and 500th anniversaries are a big deal. A quarter of 100/1,000 is 25/250, so the 25th and 250th anniversaries are important too. But we skipped the third, which by rights should be a much bigger deal than the quarter anniversary. But because of our sucky base 10, we can't have the big third anniversary because it would never equal a whole number of years. It'd be the 33.333...th or 333.333...th anniversary! Lol, it is a bit nerdy alright to get worked up over it, but I do love thinking about things like this, it is indeed fascinating.
Yeah I think learning this could really help people demystify the importance they place on certain numbers. Some people really do let them control their lives. I mean obviously there's a difference between things like young and middle-aged, but you really can't put any specific number on it.
IIN feeling depressed about recently hitting 30?
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Yeah I haven't really researched it much tbh, but I'm sure I've heard before that it was at least a theory that there was an ancient base 12. It does seem like an obvious explanation for the names of 11 and 12, but then I guess that's not good enough evidence.
Wow that's impressive that you figured out the duodecimal system and its benefits when you were a kid, I only read about it much later. It is so fundamental a subject, to think about different ways to count, that most people wouldn't even consider there could be any better way to count than our base 10, hence the obscurity of the vastly superior duodecimal system (this is also probably why the Roman numerals stuck around so long, no one questioned them).
Yeah it would make maths so much easier alright. I did actually realise myself that thing about the third's infinitely repeating 3, without just reading it. Like, a quarter in the base 10 is bad, but it's not completely awful. Yeah a quarter of ten isn't a whole number (2.5), but at least a quarter of 100 and of 1,000 is (25 and 250). But no matter what power of 10 you use, a third of it will never be a whole number because of the infinitely repeating 3.
One everyday real-life example where this really sucks is for anniversaries. The important anniversaries are usually fractions of 100 or 1,000 years. A half of 100 years and 1,000 years is 50 and 500, so the 50th and 500th anniversaries are a big deal. A quarter of 100/1,000 is 25/250, so the 25th and 250th anniversaries are important too. But we skipped the third, which by rights should be a much bigger deal than the quarter anniversary. But because of our sucky base 10, we can't have the big third anniversary because it would never equal a whole number of years. It'd be the 33.333...th or 333.333...th anniversary! Lol, it is a bit nerdy alright to get worked up over it, but I do love thinking about things like this, it is indeed fascinating.
Yeah I think learning this could really help people demystify the importance they place on certain numbers. Some people really do let them control their lives. I mean obviously there's a difference between things like young and middle-aged, but you really can't put any specific number on it.