Depends for what. Still better than random scales like 3, 12, 1760 and units that don’t mean anything like hundredweight, which isn’t even one hundred anything, unless it is because you live in another part of the world where the same word means a totally different thing.
I don’t agree. It might sometimes be cool, but with a numerical system in base 10, having a unit system in base 12 becomes really hard to manage. Let’s take meters:
To make a base 12 system work, you’d need to change the numerical system also, by adding two new digits, like we do for hexadecimal numbers, so you’d have …8-9-A-B-10, where A = 10 and B = 11 (in 10 base), so that 1m = 10dm = 100cm but in base 12.
Anyway, good luck trying to pass that, I’ve seen people who can barely count on their fingers, let alone understand a new base 12 numerical system. And for what?
Not really that obvious. The imperial system is not used in base 12. It’s used in base 10 like everything else, therefore, if it were consistent with its units (which it isn’t) it would be more like 12 -> 144 -> 1728.
Since changing how we count is honestly not realistic, the prospect of having to deal with a system that’s not based on 10 is kinda scary.
10 isn’t the best base and I’m sick of pretending it is.
Depends for what. Still better than random scales like 3, 12, 1760 and units that don’t mean anything like hundredweight, which isn’t even one hundred anything, unless it is because you live in another part of the world where the same word means a totally different thing.
Fancy a pint?
Removed by mod
I don’t agree. It might sometimes be cool, but with a numerical system in base 10, having a unit system in base 12 becomes really hard to manage. Let’s take meters:
1m = 10dm = 100cm = 1000mm VS 1m = 12dm = 144cm = 1728mm
How many mm is 15 dm in each system?
To make a base 12 system work, you’d need to change the numerical system also, by adding two new digits, like we do for hexadecimal numbers, so you’d have …8-9-A-B-10, where A = 10 and B = 11 (in 10 base), so that 1m = 10dm = 100cm but in base 12.
Anyway, good luck trying to pass that, I’ve seen people who can barely count on their fingers, let alone understand a new base 12 numerical system. And for what?
Removed by mod
Not really that obvious. The imperial system is not used in base 12. It’s used in base 10 like everything else, therefore, if it were consistent with its units (which it isn’t) it would be more like 12 -> 144 -> 1728.
Since changing how we count is honestly not realistic, the prospect of having to deal with a system that’s not based on 10 is kinda scary.
I would pick base 12. Which would you prefer?
Base 12 crew represent.
base 60 Babylonian gang where you at
Base 60 has too many symbols for the digits
Base 12 you only need two more symbols to follow 9
Yeah but it doesn’t have the same schwag as base 60
I mean base 60 would be cool and all, but it would be unwieldy
skill issue
Indeed. I think you don’t want a number system that children can’t use
Base twelve already works great in our number names, with eleven and twelve being individually named unlike the teens
Base 60
Base six
https://www.seximal.net/
Base 12 has some aweful divisions, like 1/5th and 1/7th
Hexadecimal is always best.
It doesn’t divide by 3
Granted, but it divides by two multiple times. Take a good, round number like 1024 and you can halve it 10 times in a row.
The metric system handles thirds by just using multiples. Like, you buy a 1200 wide benchtop and then you can fit a three 400 drawers under it.
You could technically do the same in hex and the base numbers are all (x^y + x^(y+1)) which represent well.
Decimal thirds suck. One gets 33c the second gets 33c the third gets 34c
We’re just lucky that 1c is negligible
All the bases are 10
12 would have been a better base.
The only thing going for 10 is that’s how many fingers you have if you can only count in ones
There are a total of twelve segments on the four fingers of each hand (thumb excluded) making it just as easy to count to 12.
Or you can count in binary, and get to over 1000 on ten fingers