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Joined: Oct 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
well certain numbers work out better for systems. decimal seems the easiest, because most of us learned it first, but once you start working a bit in binary, it is the easiest-- especialy because you can quickly switch to octal or hexidecimal.
base 13 (13 remember is a prime number) doesn't have the same advantage.
we have vestiges of other numbering systems in our everyday life, (sixty minutes to an hour, sixty seconds to a minute, and 360 (six times sixty) degrees in a circle (based on 6 lovely equalateral trianges, each with 60 degree angles,nesting inside of a circle.
base twenty shows up in "score" and base 12, in shilling, and inches.
we have inherited all sorts of numbering systems, (and for the most part, don't even think twice about them.) but i can't think of any but binary that are based on prime numbers.
pentagon are used alegedly by witches, but not as a numbering system.
of course, you could use an base you wanted, and there might be unseen advantages, in going so.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
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Dear WW: about no 13th order. I doubt that it is Triskaidekophobia ..but just that there is no
special use of thirteen in math.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
In reply to:
I doubt that it is Triskaidekophobia ..but just that there is no special use of thirteen in math.
Well, what about lots of bakers' dozens? Lots of bakers' dozens would have some special use in bakery math...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear WW: the bakers certainly did not like the number thirteen, but there was a savage
penalty for only putting eleven in the bag and calling it twelve.I searched for history, and
found this:
"This expression meaning thirteen of something, is many centuries old. It goes back to the
days when bread was the staple diet of the populace and it was illegal to sell it underweight.
In order to make certain that they did not incur a heavy penalty for selling underweight, many
bakers gave 13 loaves to the dozen, just to make sure. This extra loaf was called the
"vantage" loaf.
I never heard the word "vantage" used that way before.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
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This is actually very unlike us, doing it by the numbers. Cease and desist immediately, I say!
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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