Reform:
Piper re Mike re "Base-10"

Love the site :) Wonderful to see the Great Thinking that goes on behind games (we all know that it does, but its nice to have something to point at and show the non-gaming unbelievers).

The base 10 idea is very similar to Asian numbering systems, although they would drop the "a" entirely, not having articles to begin with. And the response to your Base 10 idea is exactly how Asian numbering systems work, that is, on a basis of 10,000 rather than our 1,000 (or should it really be written 1,0000?).

Tell you the truth, after learning a handful of languages, the irregular numbering systems of European languages have a great deal of charm. It is very easy to learn Asian numbers, at least up to 10,000. But there are no cool but ridiculous numbers like German's elf (11) and zwolf (12) or French's soixante-dix-sept (77, literally 60-10-7) or quatre-vingt (80, lit. 4 20s). While mathematics may be without borders, the way we say the numbers themselves is definitely a cultural phenomenon.

Now, metric time, there's an idea with promise .... :P

—Piper Jackson
June 2001
 

JoT

Gay Pride Parade, Seattle, 2003

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