3 ms·

The article is wrong on a couple of counts (for multiplication and division). Here is a more complete one: https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/the-widespre

The article is wrong on a couple of counts (for multiplication and division). Here is a more complete one: https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/the-widespread-and-persistent-myth-that-it-is-easier-to-multiply-and-divide-with-hindu-arabic-numerals-than-with-roman-ones/ https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/the-widespread-and-p... (Surfaced on HN with https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13636277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13636277 )

IshKebab 9y ago
Huh so I've wondered how the Babylonian "base 60" system worked. Looking at the image in that article it's not base 60 at all! It's more like a mix of base 6 and base 10. The factor increase for the columns are not: 60x 60x 60x 60 The are 6x 10x 6x 10 Much simpler than it sounds from "base 60".