4 ms·
I noticed as a kid that while 60 seconds/minutes seemed odd when we live in a base-10 number system, it was incredibly convenient when dividing into parts: 60 i
by thom_nic 11y ago
I noticed as a kid that while 60 seconds/minutes seemed odd when we live in a base-10 number system, it was incredibly convenient when dividing into parts: 60 is divisible by 2,3,4,5,6,8,10,12,15,20,30. Always thought that was sort of clever.
24 is similarly divisible by 2,3,4,6,8,12, whereas 25 is only evenly divisible by 5. So those odd-looking "constants" are good for something after all.
- jacobolus 11y agoOur measures for angles and for time descend from the base 60 Babylonian system, whereas base 10 descends from the ancient Egyptian system. For dealing with heterogeneous bases, as with measuring in imperial units, take a look at the fraction notation in Fibonacci’s book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liber_Abaci#Fibonacci.27s_notation_for_fractions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liber_Abaci#Fibonacci.27s_nota...
- spacehome 11y ago60 is divisible by ... 8?