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We should count in base four (feddit.nu)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by Hjalamanger@feddit.nu to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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We have basic words for the numbers zero to three, so why not use them to count?

  • None (0)
  • Single (1)
  • pair (2)
  • Multiple (3+ but we'll use it as three)

So with those "digits" we can construct some numbers:

  1. Single
  2. pair
  3. Multiple
  4. Single nothing
  5. Single single
  6. Single pair
  7. Single multiple
  8. Pair of nothing
  9. Pair of singels
  10. Pair of pairs

And of course we can construct bigger numbers like:
42 = 4²×2+4¹×2+4⁰×2 = pair of pairs of pairs
128 = 4³×2 = pair of absolute complete nothinges For this last one I just use some adjectives to repeat the "nothing" as it looks really weird with multiple nothing in a row.

The distance between Stockholm and Gothenburg is a single multiple of none multiple multiples

Could I have a single multiple of bananas please?

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[-] Plopp@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

If you ask someone for "multiple" of something their almost always going to give you three of that thing (or nothing).

Huh? I've lived a long time and that's not something that feels familiar to me. On the other hand I do have multiple dollars in my bank account and that equation checks out.

[-] Hjalamanger@feddit.nu 2 points 7 months ago

I'm not a native English speaker so you (and everyone else here) are probably right. I thought it meant the same thing as the Swedish word "flera" whilst the proper translation seems to be "ett flertal"

[-] Plopp@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

I think it differs. To me, "flera" is like 3-5 maybe? Perhaps 4-10 in some cases. And I sometimes hear people use "par" to mean 3, probably short for "ett par tre stycken", so a poorly defined 2-3 that sometimes is 3.

this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2024
23 points (63.5% liked)

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