Does anyone else particularly enjoy powers of 2?

Page 2 of 2 [ 27 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2

Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 82

06 Dec 2013, 2:03 pm

My thing is triangular numbers (which can be expressed by (x^2 + x)/2). Or triangulars of triangulars, like 666, which is the triangle of 36, which is itself the triangle of 8. Also, 666 is a pentagonal number as well, if I'm not mistaken (the pentagram!).

Max000
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Apr 2012
Age: 65
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,547

06 Dec 2013, 3:10 pm

Shatbat wrote:

Max000 wrote:

I have always liked the number 12, for that reason. I've always thought that 12 should be the number 10 and there should be two additional digits.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, X, Y, 10

Math would be so much simpler. But no, we are stuck with 10 being the base number. Because the dumb people have to be able to count on their fingers. :roll:

I dunno, I do use my fingers to count sometimes; although I wouldn't consider myself "dumb", I've got a really awful memory :lol:

. Perhaps another base would be more convenient for calculations, but base 10 is probably more convenient for everyday tasks, and our 10 fingers also make it more natural. A base 12 would make division by 5 less straightforward, so it's not a total win. Btw I was taught there was actually a 12-base numeration system, that came from having three phalanges in each of our four fingers, excluding the thumb which was used to count. If my sources are right the 60 second minute, 60 minute hour and 24 hour day might have an origin there.

Sorry I din't mean anything with the "dumb" comment. I count on my fingers sometimes too. I just think that it is dumb that we have a number system based on ten, for no other reason then, that we have ten fingers. When other numbers would work better.

Dejah
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 10 Jan 2013
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 5

12 Dec 2013, 2:11 pm

I so much prefer powers of 2 that the sum of 4 and 2 discomforts me. What a twisted sum.

ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 89
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

12 Dec 2013, 5:19 pm

Written in binary they are rather boring. Almost as boring as powers of ten written in the base ten system or powers of sixteen written in hexadecimal.

ruveyn

superluminary
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 4 Nov 2013
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 274

13 Dec 2013, 6:27 am

Dejah wrote:

I so much prefer powers of 2 that the sum of 4 and 2 discomforts me. What a twisted sum.

That is indeed uncomfortable!

superluminary
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 4 Nov 2013
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 274

13 Dec 2013, 6:28 am

I suppose my question is, did you ever feel sort of locked to those numbers, like everything you did had to relate to them in a way that could be considered disabling?

Comp_Geek_573
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Sep 2011
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 699

13 Dec 2013, 5:08 pm

Max000 wrote:

Shatbat wrote:

I also like multiples of 12. Easily divisible by 2, 3 and 4

I guess if we had 12 fingers we'd be using a base-12 number system! I indeed like, in addition to the powers of two that are so important in computer science, highly composite numbers like 12. 60 is even better, which is why, like Shatbat said, we have 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. And 360 degrees in a circle, for that matter. 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30.

The intriguing thing about powers of two is that NONE are divisible by 3, 5, 7, 11 or any other prime. Expressing these numbers as 2^n IS, in fact, expressing their prime factorization!

Oh, and guess what you get when you multiply 60 by 7, giving a number divisible by that prime as well?

_________________
Your Aspie score: 98 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 103 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits
AQ: 33

LonelyJar
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 15 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,073

05 Oct 2014, 6:01 am

Double your pleasure, double your fun!

Humanaut
Veteran
Veteran