Why We Should Switch to a Base-12 Counting System
io9.gizmodo.comBy the time I learned my times tables at primary (elementary) school in the UK in the mid 70s, decimalisation was well under way. The old money system of 20 12 penny shillings to the pounds had been replaced with a 100p pound. The metric system was on the horizon, but everyday measures were still in yards, feet, inches, ounces and pounds. We were taught times tables up to 12, and I still remember my 11 and 12 times tables. Very handy for thinking in dozens or feet and inches. I guess our 12/24 hour clock system is the last hold out of the dozenal approach. I'd prefer whole hearted decimalisation and reform of the clock system. Or base 16. But not base 12!
No, no, no. There are dozens of reasons why we shouldn't.
Yeah. I'm not sure how well I'd go with counting since I only have 10 fingers.
Addressed in the article: on each hand, you have 4x3 finger segments plus the thumb to point them out. The actual issue is why we don't speak Esperanto, why the UK drives on the left, and the USA uses miles: network effects.
We also drive on the left in Australia. It was arbitrary which side to drive on since neither left nor right is superior. Miles vs km on the other hand...
It doesn't really matter which is superior or if there even is a superior option - the inertia of the existing system is large enough to prevent a change (The Swedish had a driving side switch at the very last moment it was feasible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H ). If the imperial-to-metric switch is hard, how harder would it be to change a whole counting system that's embedded in much of the culture?