We have 10 fingers.
[editline]6th February 2011[/editline]
Hex is where it's at, base 16 motherfuckers.
[img]http://puu.sh/SU9[/img]
:v:
But I dunno...
Anything other than base 10 is just too confusing to consider :v:
I like to think base 36 is superior.
[editline]12:55[/editline]
The time now is C:1J.
Just as a side note, I think the babylonians used base 60 because it has the most divisors! (factors?) :eng101:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60
Look at all the possibilities :v:
I think people should only count in powers of 2 or else angles with zeros at the end(90, 180, 360,720 etc.
They used 60 instead of 10 in Babylon, which is why our time measurement is usually built up of sixty units.
[QUOTE=PacificV2;27886836]But the OP stealthraises a good point, what if we had 8 fingers instead of 10 and base 8 was the norm. Would it be awkward to use base 10 in some situations?[/QUOTE]
Well we do have only 8 fingers.
Multiply 10 times 10. Just throw on another zero. Repeat. 100 x 10 = 1000. Etc.
Wish America would suck it up and use the metric system.
There are some folks in the amazonas and in Africa as well who not only use their fingers but also the state of them.
So a bent fingr would symbol a different number than a straight one.
But yea OP, 10 as base works so well because:
-10 fingers
-10 cyphers
[editline]6th February 2011[/editline]
10*10 in a system based on 8 cyphers would mean
10*10= 10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10 =70+10=100 which would equal 64 in our number system.
So calculation isn't really a problem if you use a completely different system as it is consistent in itself.
[editline]6th February 2011[/editline]
Also we use arabic cyphers, not numbers. That's a difference.
[editline]6th February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=torero;27890173]Just as a side note, I think the babylonians used base 60 because it has the most divisors! (factors?) :eng101:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60
Look at all the possibilities :v:[/QUOTE]
That's not true.
You could use 300 or 3000 as a base if you wanted more factors. That has nothing to do with the base you use.
Really, while base 10 is good (and what we're used to), base 12 is better.
Observe.
10 can be divided by 1,2,5, and 10.
12 can be divided by 1,2,[B]3,4,6[/B], and 10.
It's more useful as a result. I think this is why time (the only imperial system still widely used) is still the way it is - 60, 24 etc. They're divisible by far more numbers than say, 50 (60: 1,2,3,4,5,6,10,12,15,20,30,60. 50: 1,2,5,10,25,50).
I've been counting with binary and hexadecimal for the past few weeks (programming), so decimal isn't exactly special to me anymore.
Every base is base 10.
[QUOTE=Killuah;27890562]
That's not true.
You could use 300 or 3000 as a base if you wanted more factors. That has nothing to do with the base you use.[/QUOTE]
Well, I meant it has lots of factors, not the most. I still think it's still a good reason for choosing base 60.
powers of 2 is better
2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 4096 8192 etc.
not only is it doubling each time , but they are the most useful digits when mapping and modelling
Why can't bases just get along? :saddown:
Goddamn numerophobes.
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;27893974]powers of 2 is better
2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 4096 8192 etc.
not only is it doubling each time , but they are the most useful digits when mapping and modelling[/QUOTE]
Admittedly only because computers use binary.
I wonder if kids could be taught hex as easily as decimal. Wouldn't it be nice if our regular number system was one that converted so easily to binary, with computers everywhere?
[QUOTE=JgcxCub;27890885]Really, while base 10 is good (and what we're used to), base 12 is better.
Observe.
10 can be divided by 1,2,5, and 10.
12 can be divided by 1,2,[B]3,4,6[/B], [highlight]and 10[/highlight].
It's more useful as a result. I think this is why time (the only imperial system still widely used) is still the way it is - 60, 24 etc. They're divisible by far more numbers than say, 50 (60: 1,2,3,4,5,6,10,12,15,20,30,60. 50: 1,2,5,10,25,50).[/QUOTE]
what
They made 10 digits 0-9 and then some one said lets just combine the 9 and call it a day.
Hmmm... I really can't imagine why we use bases of ten...
[img]http://www.gresik.ca/images/hands.jpg[/img]
OH.
[QUOTE=TrouserDemon;27887449]14 in base 12 is 16. You go 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,10,11,12,13,14. 16 numbers.[/QUOTE]
Oh...wow I am not ready for that tournament at all. Its base 8 that 14 = 12
You can easily learn to use another base. Hex and binary are very common in electronics, you use them enough it becomes like base 10 to you. It's just like learning another language. Except don't ask me to do binary long division.
[QUOTE=Upgrade123;27903743]what[/QUOTE]
Ah, mea culpa. I meant 12. My point still stands though.
It's occasionally useful to think in other bases. For example, it's unintuitive in base 10 that
[img]http://www.codecogs.com/gif.latex?\sum%20_{k=0}%20^{b}%20{2^k}%20=%202^{b+1}%20-%201[/img]
and as a result
[img]http://www.codecogs.com/gif.latex?\sum%20_{k=a}%20^b%20{2^k}%20=%202^{b%20+%201}%20-%202^a[/img]
but it's obvious when you think of what you're doing in binary:
(Dec) 2^0 = (Bin) 1
(Dec) 2^1 = (Bin) 10
(Dec) 2^2 = (Bin) 100
and their sum is
(Bin) 1 + 10 + 100 = (Bin) 111 = (Bin) 1000 - 1 = (Dec) 2^3 - 1
You can count on your fingers in base 12, and it's the norm for some cultures I think. It was much more common when everything was in 12s (shillings = 12 pence, pound = 12 ounces etc...)
Basically you count the sections of your fingers with your thumb (3 sections per finger X 4 fingers = 12)
You count ones on one hand and 12s with the other. That way you can count up to 144 on you fingers.
12 is a much nicer base to work with, as there are more ways to divide 12
[QUOTE=ThePuska;27919096]It's occasionally useful to think in other bases. For example, it's unintuitive in base 10 that
[img_thumb]http://www.codecogs.com/gif.latex?\sum%20_{k=0}%20^{b}%20{2^k}%20=%202^{b+1}%20-%201[/img_thumb]
and as a result
[img_thumb]http://www.codecogs.com/gif.latex?\sum%20_{k=a}%20^b%20{2^k}%20=%202^{b%20+%201}%20-%202^a[/img_thumb]
but it's obvious when you think of what you're doing in binary:
(Dec) 2^0 = (Bin) 1
(Dec) 2^1 = (Bin) 10
(Dec) 2^2 = (Bin) 100
and their sum is
(Bin) 1 + 10 + 100 = (Bin) 111 = (Bin) 1000 - 1 = (Dec) 2^3 - 1[/QUOTE]
Yes because everyone knows what that means.
Mind explaining?
[QUOTE=SomeRandomGuy18;27923808]Yes because everyone knows what that means.
Mind explaining?[/QUOTE]
The sigma notation is a simpler way of writing sums.
[img]http://www.codecogs.com/gif.latex?\sum%20_{k=0}%20^b%20{2^k}[/img]
means
[img]http://www.codecogs.com/gif.latex?2^0%20+%202^1%20+%202^2%20+%202^3%20+%20...%20+%202^b[/img]
There's no hint there that'd suggest that the sum is in fact also equal to
[img]http://www.codecogs.com/gif.latex?2^{b%20+%201}%20-%201[/img]
But it's straightforward to see if you start calculating the sums. However the reason why remains unclear unless you can do basic arithmetic in binary.
It's "useful" because, even though the sigma notation is compact, it's still somewhat clumsier than the subtraction. It's slower to calculate, more complicated to do algebra with etc.
To the OP.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0[/media]
Excrements of 10
Its a simple base number, don't question it.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
