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RisingPhoenix5 t1_iu2jfu6 wrote

Reply to comment by ScreamapillarAPI in Enter a wavelength of visible light (380nm - 808nm) to see what color it is by CoherentPhoton

So essentially, your dominant hand would count up to twelve using the bones on your fingers of that same hand.

On the other hand (This entire comment is worth it for that pun), your non-dominant hand would count the number of times you reached 12 while counting, or the multiple of 12 to use. So two fingers on the offhand would be equivalent to 24, while three of the offhand and 3 bones on the dominant hand would be 2(12)+3 = 27.

At least, that was my understanding from the Wikipedia page.

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ScreamapillarAPI t1_iu30g51 wrote

Doesn't that describe a base 12 system though rather than a base 60, if your off hand represents X * 12? Like in base 10, eleven is represented as 11. (1 * 10 + 1) and in base 2 11 is three (1 * 2 + 1)

Edit: I found a video by numberphile explaining base 60 and he describes it exactly like you did. I guess what I'm hung up on is why is it considered base 60 rather than base 12? https://youtu.be/R9m2jck1f90

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RisingPhoenix5 t1_iu36thr wrote

Because you consider both hands. You can get to 12 on one hand, but using both hands you can count to 60 total. Thats just a guess on my part though, I don't actually know.

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TheThiefMaster t1_iu3dt5n wrote

It's because it goes to 12 on one hand, then 5 on the other, and then if you go higher it does 12 again then 5 again. You can think of that as going to 60 on both hands, then 60 again, rather than alternating 12 and 5.

e.g. 12×5 (60) seconds, then 12×5 (60) minutes, then 12 hours

Really it's an alternating base 12/5 number system though.

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[deleted] t1_iu32vpo wrote

That's a base 12 system, I use it sometimes. It's easier to use than counting on fingers. It's a popular way of counting in a lot of places

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RisingPhoenix5 t1_iu36q32 wrote

As noted in other comments and the wiki I commented on, it is actually a base 60, not 12. 12 is just the number of digits you can count to on one hand. In the same way the base 10 system works off of both hands, just using a different base.

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