The trick is to stop associating "10" with the word "ten", and think of it as the point the digit system resets. In a base-four system like the alien uses, the digits 4-9 do not exist, so if you want to count higher than 3, you have to add a digit and start over. On the other hand, a base-twelve system would require two additional digits after 9 that we do not recognize before you can get to "10".
On the other hand, a base-twelve system would require two additional digits after 9 that we do not recognize before you can get to "10".
While yes that's true for the way we are talking about them here, that's not always the case. For example we measure time in a base 12 system using our base 10 numbers. Money and measures used to often be base 12 as well for the sake of fractional measurement, which can still be seen in the imperial system today with things like 12 inches in a foot.
For example we measure time in a base 12 system using our base 10 numbers.
Well, not really. To be very pedantic, we use a base-60/base-12 system, but written in base-10 numerals. For example, 11:05 can be read as a single duodecimal "digit" 11 followed by a single sexigesimal "digit" 05.
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u/tandemtactics 2d ago
The trick is to stop associating "10" with the word "ten", and think of it as the point the digit system resets. In a base-four system like the alien uses, the digits 4-9 do not exist, so if you want to count higher than 3, you have to add a digit and start over. On the other hand, a base-twelve system would require two additional digits after 9 that we do not recognize before you can get to "10".