• @[email protected]
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      371 year ago

      Jesus Christ.

      I just realized that we call binary base2 and there’s no 2 in that numbering system. We call hexadecimal base16 but there’s no 16 (at least not like we know it). But then why is base10 base10? We have a 10…but it’s not a single digit number.

      Why is this reminding me of Project Hail Mary?

        • @[email protected]
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          11 year ago

          The same is true for all bases. What we call base-4 in base-10 is 0123. In base-16 it’s 0123456789abcdef, where f is what we would call 15

      • @[email protected]
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        211 year ago

        Every base has ten, but it’s made of two digits

        Binary 0, 1, 10 Ternary 0, 1, 2, 10 … Decimal 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Hex 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F, 10

        Each has the right count of digits for its base before you go two-digit - binary has two (0, 1), etc

        • @[email protected]
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          31 year ago

          more precisely, every base has 10, but it’s usually not equal to ten. ten is a fixed value, while 10 depends on the base. you still count normally (one two three four five), even in a base two system. you just write it differently.

          • @[email protected]
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            01 year ago

            I don’t see the need to bring values into this, this is about the naming of number systems. We really have no more claim to ten being this many (…) than hexadecimal people have to claim ten has this many (…)

            • @[email protected]
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              11 year ago

              10 as the first overflow of digits is not a clear vlaue, it depends on the notation because its base is unclear.

              Ten as the English word is 100% defined. The issue is we translate seamlessly between the word and number, but there really is no confusion when writing ten. 10 in hex has a different english word: sixteen.

              English number names are mostly decimal-based, but their values are still fixed. Ten isn’t the word for “the first time our number system overflows”, it’s an amount.

              So I disagree. Ten will always be (…) this many, because it’s an English word.

              • @[email protected]
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                11 year ago

                If you are working in a different number system with other people ten loses its unique meaning just like any word that has another technical meaning.

                In code 0x10 is hex 10 (what you’d call sixteen), but in spoken technical English you don’t need to pronounce the 0x

      • @[email protected]
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        21 year ago

        because then every base would be ‘base 10’

        That or the decriarchy has been normalizing the decimal counting system as the default one for far too long!

    • @[email protected]
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      151 year ago

      What is this “8” you refer to? Here in the land of people without thumbs, 10 comes after 7.

      • @[email protected]
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        21 year ago

        If there’s no agreed symbol for digit 37, you can call it Base 37A (or express it in another base of your choosing).

        In case the formatting doesn’t work, that A is supposed to be subscript

  • @[email protected]
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    111
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    1 year ago

    Can we all use base 12?

    It will be a shower of shit for like 50 years but then it will be marginally better for pretty much everyone.

    • Nafeon (Lemmy, don't "@" this
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      211 year ago

      This would be great. I was researching why we don’t have 10 based clocks and then I saw a video about why a 12 and 60 based system is actually much more convenient and now I would love a ‘dozen based metric system’

    • FreeFacts
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      121 year ago

      Why base 12 though? Base 16 is even better. And base 60 is even better than that!

      • @[email protected]
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        271 year ago

        Common denominators. You can divide base 12 into half, thirds, fourths, and sixths and still use integers. I find thirds to be particularly useful, so base 16 is out. Base 60 can do it, but that’s getting unweildly.

          • @[email protected]
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            181 year ago

            You can do base 12 on fingers! You count each of the 3 segments on each finger and ignore the thumb (you can use it to keep your place), so you can count up to 12 on just one hand! :)

            • @[email protected]
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              61 year ago

              This is why I’m not totally sold on the idea that we use base 10 because we have 10 fingers. There are a lot of ways to count with your fingers. Plus, there are many cultures throughout human history that use something else. Base 10 in modern times might just be a historical quirk.

              • teft
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                11 year ago

                Some societies used base 27 from counting body parts. Sumeria famously used base 60. It’s why minutes and hours are divided by 60

              • @[email protected]
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                11 year ago

                iirc, the reason that time is base 60 is because some ancient peoples figured out how to count to 60 on their fingers.

          • @[email protected]
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            11 year ago

            Just add left arm, right arm to it or, if you’re a guy nose and dick.

            Certainly, especially the male version, it would make the visual act of counting far more funny to watch.

            I think I’m starting to warm up to the whole base 12 idea…

        • @[email protected]
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          101 year ago

          There are no common denominators in base 12 that you can’t use in base 84, and the latter also has 7 as a common denominator.

          I, for one, vote for changing our base to 84.

    • Khrux
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      281 year ago

      Some people argue that it would be harder to count on your fingers but we could just surgically give everyone more?

        • Skua
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          1 year ago

          I find it useful if I’m counting only specific instances of something that meet some criteria. That way my brain can focus on picking out the right things and not have to worry about keeping the current count in mind. I use the method with your thumb on each segment of your fingers though, so you can get up to twelve with one hand and 156 with both

      • @[email protected]
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        291 year ago

        There are 12 sections on your fingers (excluding your thumb) you then use your thumb to count to 12 on one hand.

        Two hands can allow you to count to 24. Which is way higher than 10. Base 12 is better!

        • Skua
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          11 year ago

          Use the other hand to count twelves! Each time you fill up one hand, add one to the other. That way you can get all the way to 156, which is probably more than you’d ever want to count one by one anyway

        • Khrux
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          41 year ago

          Bold of you to assume I’d ever remember this counting technique. Hell I’m shocked I remember counting my fingers for base 10…

          • @[email protected]
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            1 year ago

            I like the idea of some numbers being popular hand gestures.

            4 - Fuck you; 17 - Shaka (hang loose); 18 - Metal horns; 19 - “I love you”; 132 - Double fuck you

        • @[email protected]
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          11 year ago

          To be fair, you should be comparing 2 hands in base 12 to 2 hands in base 10, I. E. 20:24. Still a real difference, but not the 10:24 difference you pointed out.

      • Cethin
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        1 year ago

        Binary is very good for counting with your fingers. With both hands you can count to 1023. One hand is 31, which is still usually more than you typically need to count. It’s also trivial to do once you know how binary works. It takes very little thought, though potentially the decoding could take a bit depending on your proficiency.

      • @[email protected]
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        51 year ago

        Billions of years ago, our collective great-great-great-[several million more]-grandparent evolved a fin with a five bone structure. That idiot didn’t know anything about common denominators, and now we’re stuck with this numeric system that can’t divide things into thirds without causing issues.

    • Xanthrax
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      11 year ago

      That’s Acadian, right? It was originally based on the number of easy to count bones in your fingers (12-24)

    • @[email protected]
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      301 year ago

      50 years? I bet we couldn’t even agree on how to write “11” & “12” on such short notice. (See: date format, encoding, etc)

    • @[email protected]
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      881 year ago

      42* years. Centuries are now 84 years. We are living in the 19th century! I rate this idea 12/12.

  • @[email protected]
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    1 year ago

    Wow I never thought about that.

    But it is always like this:

    let there be any base "b"
    That can represent a number by the sum of their positional digits:
    
    number = sum(d_i * b ^ i)
       where i is the position index and d_i is the digit at this position. (note: index starts with 0, from the least digit farthest to the right)
    

    So the (decimal) number 4 in base 4 is then

    1×4¹ + 0×4^0 = 10
    

    And (decimal) number 8 in base 8 is

    1×8¹ + 0×8^0 = 10
    

    And 10 in base 10:

    1×10¹ + 0×10^0 = 10
    
  • @[email protected]
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    141 year ago

    The most reliable way to communicate bases would probably be using unary. Now if your alien is using unary, that might not work, but it should for all higher bases.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 year ago

      I’m not sure if I fully understand.
      I was thinking, wouldn’t it be easiest to describe the system you use by taking the last number in your first decimum and then saying you increment it with one?
      E.g. for base ten this would be: base 9 + 1
      For binary it would be: base 1 + 1
      For hexadecimal it would be: base F + 1
      Etc.

      • @[email protected]
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        51 year ago

        But if you’re talking to an alien that uses base 4, they don’t know what you mean by “base 9+1”. Wtf is a 9?

  • KillingTimeItself
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    21 year ago

    every base is not base ten, and i will fight you on this one.

    binary is base two, or as i like to refer to it, the power of 2 base.

        • Ech
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          11 year ago

          Ok then. In english, what would you call 4 in a base-4 system?

          • KillingTimeItself
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            11 year ago

            quad would be the formal root, so something based that, you could do a french thing where you go “half octal” you could just not use it because it’s a crime against humanity, and the joke here is dependent on the specific telling of the statement.

            • Ech
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              11 year ago

              So, when you see 10 in base-4, you’d say “Quad”?

              • KillingTimeItself
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                11 year ago

                ok so correction, googling base 4 literally returns “Quaternary system” So there’s your answer lmao.

                just because binary is called binary doesn’t mean 10 is binary, 10 is 2 in binary. (Reading from right to left.)

                hexadecimal is similar 1F would be 16, assuming i got that correct.

                We have the same thing in the decimal system as well. 10 is 10, not decimal, the reason it’s referred to as decimal is because it’s base 10, meaning that it has deca (10) possibilities it’s just used to provide an abstracted method of referring to base systems in word form, without using numbers, because numbers can be a little confusing sometimes.

  • @[email protected]
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    41 year ago

    I remember someone trying to come up with a solution to this by generating a name for every single base, dunno if they’ve succeeded or not tho

  • @[email protected]
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    31 year ago

    Plot twist: there are 8 other stones and the alien is really using base 10 (or base 30 if you use base 4)