ScreamapillarAPI t1_iu30g51 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 4:21 AM

Reply to comment by RisingPhoenix5 in Enter a wavelength of visible light (380nm - 808nm) to see what color it is by CoherentPhoton

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

RisingPhoenix5 t1_iu36thr wrote on October 28, 2022 at 5:31 AM

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.

TheThiefMaster t1_iu3dt5n wrote on October 28, 2022 at 7:01 AM

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.