this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
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xkcd
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It would've been better if we had a 6 or 12 based number system
The big reason for 60 over 12 or 6 is the divisibility by 5. That makes it divisible by all numbers through the first 3 primes.
To get it divisible by all the numbers up to the next prime (7), you'd have to go to 420, and the one after that (11) you'd need to go to 27,720, and 13 would require a whopping 360,360.
The problem with base 60 is needing to know and remember instinctively the names, symbols, and relative positioning for 60 digits. Like, I love Babylon, they're underrated for certain, but imagine teaching this to a 5 year old. Imagine doing calculus with this shit. Now remember that their writing impliment was a triangular reed and their written marks were entirely triangles and straight lines.
I knew a 26-letter alphabet by the time I was 2.
Yes, but set to music i assume and not nearly to the level one was expected to understand the ordering of digits.
In base 34: 1…9,a…z,10 it's slightly more than half the digits the babylonians had, and as someone whose career involves a lot of math I don't want to be dealing with at a glance trying to figure out the approximate difference between jl5x and ik8r
As an adult with a college degree in stem I know my digits and their ordering perfectly and without question unless literally trying to trip me up. The alphabet, I know in that specific order and would have to think to start in the middle. I don't want to do series or sequences on that shit and if you do then good for you