What is it with round numbers?

[ClichéGuevara]

What about 100? It's a square round number!!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

square

Somewhat tangentially but still numbers based; I've always liked that old L7 phrase, especially when used in Woolly Bully:


View: https://youtu.be/KZJiGu6Gz8E

 

[Oldhippy]

Have you missed off a laughy face there?

Nope.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Ah yes, the ongoing Babylonian influence - little did the buggers know that millenia later little old me would have to puzzle over Excel time based formulas on my cycling spreadsheet because of them.

And, maybe they were big on threesomes back then - can't think of any other reason why Base 60 would appear on their radar.

It is a lot easier to divide 60 than 10, making for easy dividing up of time.

Divisible by primes 2,3,5 which leads easily to 5 past, 10 past, quarter past, half past, quarter to etc.

 

[Oldhippy]

Pretty sure I remember it right but when I lived in Japan I learned they used an entirely separate counting system for fish. @Andy in Germany can Mrs Andy in Germany confirm this?

 

[winjim]

It’s just our need to see patterns and order.
We count in base 10 so it make sense.
It would be interesting from an anthropology study to see if other cultures have the same needs.
How many on here would ride a bit longer to round up if their ride was 48miles or 98 miles?

I'm good with 48 but would round down 98 to 96.

I work in a lab, everything's in twelves. It makes so much more sense.

 

[Dayvo]

Indeed, they would cycle round the block to get past 100.

They’d probably even walk the last bit just to clock up the 100 etc.
I know I would if I was knackered but that close to a milestone.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Audax gets rounded to the nearest 100km nominally. But you won’t find many 500km, 700km, 800km or 900km audaxes. It jumps from 400km to 600km then 1000km then 1200km. It all makes sense.

 

[Dayvo]

Who sets their alarm clock at 3 minutes to the hour, or seven minutes before the half hour, for example? No-one, I’d imagine.
or no-one in their right mind.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Pretty sure I remember it right but when I lived in Japan I learned they used an entirely separate counting system for fish. @Andy in Germany can Mrs Andy in Germany confirm this?

I'll ask. I know there's a different system for measuring buildings, which causes no end of confusion...

 

[Oldhippy]

I'll ask. I know there's a different system for measuring buildings, which causes no end of confusion...

Yes! I forgot about that too! Such a quirky country, loved living there. Must spend some of my retirement cycling there.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Yes! I forgot about that too! Such a quirky country, loved living there. Must spend some of my retirement cycling there.

I wonder if we could arrange to be there at the same time?

 

[Oldhippy]

I wonder if we could arrange to be there at the same time?

Plan! I hear that traditional houses in the back and beyond (still served by public transport folks) are absurdly cheap. Like £5k cheap doer uppers! Seriously considered that as a retirement idea. Sorry for the derailing of the thread.😁

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Many moons ago, I recall reading about a group in one country whose numbering system was effectively 1, 2, lots.

That's the Pirahã, an Amazonian hunter-gatherer tribe.

There are many counting systems other than base 10 used around the world. In Papua New Guinea you can find people using base 27 ( the Oksapmin), base 6 (speakers of Ndom), or base 15 (speakers of Huli).

Even traditional Welsh used to use base 20 with a key reference at the number fifteen whereby once you got beyond 15 you added units to that number. So 16 was one on 15 and 36 was one on 15 on 20!

 

[Electric_Andy]

Who sets their alarm clock at 3 minutes to the hour, or seven minutes before the half hour, for example? No-one, I’d imagine.
or no-one in their right mind.

sorry but I used to before I had children (and had no natural alarm clock). I'd set the alarm for 06:57 so that I'd have time to get myself together mentally before I got up for 07:00! Odd numbers don't bother me usually, apart from the weird thing I have in the car, I won't set the stereo at volume 13, but all other numbers are fine.