Number Base Debate
Comments debate the merits of base 10 (decimal) versus alternatives like base 12 (dozenal), base 8, or others, citing reasons such as human finger counting, divisibility properties, mental arithmetic ease, and historical systems.
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What's so special about base 10 other than that it's the number of fingers that humans (usually) have?
Still, wouldn't base 12 be better than base 10 ?
Isn't base 10 easier because you just add/remove zeros, and also we have 10 fingers to count..?
It's using a neat numbering system called "decimal", you should check it out.
Too bad we don't live in a culture with base 12 numbers.
maybe do it in another base rather than base 10. Just because we have 10 fingers does not mean a god does.
Obivously, since base 10 is arbitrary.
wouldnt base 11 make more sense then?
Yep! Too bad humanity has settled on decimal instead of dozenal (base 12).
Or forget about the thumbs and just count fingers. 8 would be a better base than 10 for sure, and arguably better than 12. (Easier doubling and halving, easier binary conversions, but fewer integer factors and fewer digits.)