Why a dozen?
Why do we got out for a Dozen? Why twelve and not 8 or any other number? Is it simply a unit of convenience and if so when was it first implemented? did the 1266 Azzise of Bread and Ale set...
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Books on the uses of numbers such as Linklater's "Measuring America" make much of the convenience of 12. It is easy for the uneducated to devide by 1,2,3,4,6 and 12. I don't have any of these books...
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English use of the word "dozen" dates to c.1300. The concept of measuring in units of twelve goes back into antiquity. "Dozen" is derived from the Latin "duodecim," so the Romans were used to counting...
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The Babylonians used 12 a lot. I'm not sure how significant 12 was to the Romans, as offhand only the Twelve Tables spring to mind. The fact that 'dozen' derives from duodecim doesn't mean very much -...
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The number 12 occurs in nature in one prominent way: there are 12 months in a year---that is, there are (about) 12 moons in a year. I would guess that one or more ancient cultures invented a...
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12 is a much better base for a counting system for daily commerce because 12 has more divisors than 10. You can order a half-dozen or a third-dozen or a quarter-dozen. Of those, only the half works...
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Ah, a fellow duodecimalist. There are so few of us.However, given that there are still those who haven't mastered the change to decimal currency in the UK, I shudder to think how converting to base 12...
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I recall reading an extensive entry on this subject in The History of Mathematics. The Aztecs if I recall correctly used the base 60 and some mathematicians commented on the speed of calculation in...
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Twelve hours in a (daylight) day, twelve hours in a night; sixty minutes in an hour, sixty seconds in a minute; 360 degrees in a circle.A nice little research project for someone who wants to find out...
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As a contribution but not an answer, I remember reading some research results that suggested the optimum number of subjects that a human brain could manage on an on-going basis was twelve, and that...
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I question that. Vague citations of alleged research aren't very helpful. Besides, I would think individual variation would be considerable.And military hierarchies traditionally operate on 3-5...
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Quote:A nice little research project for someone who wants to find out about numbers.Isaac Asimov did it about 1982 How We Found Out About Numbers. It is quite readable, I am in no position to say how...
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More inside from previous discussion Numbers I am a Babylonian Sixer too kurwamac
View ArticleRe: Why a dozen?
I take your point about military hierarchies, as seen from the outside. But the research I refer to ...but can't reliably cite, except to say:probably, New Scientist as a former subscription holder...
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