166
If humans were born with 6 fingers on each hand we would be using base 12 instead of the decimal system. (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by migvelio@lemmy.world to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
35 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There's also evidence of an early base-12 system in use for some Indo-Europeans -- it's likely why the English morphology doesn't become compositional until 13:

Ten (not compositional)

Eleven (not compositional)

Twelve (not compositional)

Thirteen (related to three-ten)

Fourteen (relates to four-ten)

Etc.

[-] mySFWaccount@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

Cool! I never really thought of it that way.

this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
166 points (94.1% liked)

Showerthoughts

29525 readers
532 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. Avoid politics (NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out)
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
vatlark@lemmy.world
forkball@lemmy.world
quinten@lemmy.world
Thekingoflorda@lemmy.world