• reiseno_@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    5 months 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! :)

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      5 months 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.

        • dukatos@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          I can count to 1023 using both hands but only to 31 using one.

      • teft@lemmy.world
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        5 months 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