AFAIK the system goes back to the old Babylonians who had a base-60 system subdivided into 5 times 12. 5 times 12 could easily be counted using your thumb to count the 12 knuckles on the other fingers and the 5 fingers of the other hand.
I mean, how amazing is counting like that! I only learned to count to 10 with my fingers. I love the base-10 for its simplicity but base-60, subbase-12 is the shit :D
We should “just” switch to base-6 (or maybe 12) first
AFAIK the system goes back to the old Babylonians who had a base-60 system subdivided into 5 times 12. 5 times 12 could easily be counted using your thumb to count the 12 knuckles on the other fingers and the 5 fingers of the other hand.
I mean, how amazing is counting like that! I only learned to count to 10 with my fingers. I love the base-10 for its simplicity but base-60, subbase-12 is the shit :D
Even easier and more comfortable - count the pads instead of the knuckles. You can count to 12 with one hand, or 144 with two
You are right! English is not my first language and I thought I was talking about the pads. My bad! Yours is the best way!
If only we had 6 digits per hand as standard, basic maths would be so much easier for everyone
We do, base 12 comes from 5 fingers and a fist. It was used by traders for the longest time.