Base 10? The Best?

We use our base ten number system every day without thinking. But why? Is this the most efficient way of counting?

Let’s think back to where our number system came from.

Egyptian hieroglyphics can be seen as one of the first examples of a number system which pre-date roman numerals. Similarly, the Egyptians used a base ten system of hieroglyphics for numerals. A numeral is the symbol that represents the number. In the system, they have separate symbols for ‘one unit, one ten, one hundred, one thousand, one ten thousand, one hundred thousand and one million’ explain O’Connor and Robertson (2000).

As detailed by Scottsdale (2017) there are several drawbacks to the Egyptian’s number system. As she explains there are some numbers which are very long to write. For example, for the number 258, you will need to write 15 symbols. This means that the process becomes time consuming and as the number increases, it gets more difficult.

Next came the Roman numerals.

Roman numbers are created by merging symbols and adding their value. Likewise, when counting in Roman numerals you have to be able to decode in order to read a number. This can become impractical and again very time consuming. (The Hindu-Arabic Number System and Roman Numerals, no date).

Similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics and Roman numerals, just because they are what we are used to and use in our everyday lives, it does not mean it is necessarily the most efficient. The video discusses how for example, a base twelve system would make our counting easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_QBDrBlbds&t=121s

In this system, our numbers would consist of; 1 to 9, two new symbols for ten and eleven which are given the new names of dek and el and to avoid confusion ten has a new name of do. A number square would look something like this;

Trying it ourselves in the lecture, my mind was blown. I thought there was no way I could ever understand this and how it would ever work more efficiently. This is purely because our current base 10 system is so ingrained into our everyday lives. It is often said that the human body is accustomed to using a base ten system to count as we have ten fingers.

What would this mean for us as teachers?

As I have observed from experience in the classroom, for the kids, learning their times table can be a difficult and tedious process.

According to Wilkins (2018), a child’s times table forms the basis in their growth in mathematics and the mathematics we use in everyday life. With this being such an important concept in a child’s development of mathematics, would a base twelve system be more effective?

In base twelve, because twelve can be divided by 2,3,4 and 6. There are patterns in all of these times tables making it much easier for children to learn.

However, as a child you will often turn to your fingers to help you count and with the base twelve system this cannot be done as easily. If only we had twelve fingers….

Despite there being clear benefits to this new number system, the change for our world would be too confusing to implement.

References

O’Connor, J.J. and Robertson, E.F. (2000) Egyptian Numerals. Available at: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Egyptian_numerals.html (Accessed: 31 October 2018).

The Hindu—Arabic Number System and Roman Numerals (undated) Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymakermath4libarts/chapter/the-hindu-arabic-number-system/ (Accessed: 6 November 2018).

Scottsdale, B. (2017) The Disadvantages of the Egyptian Numeral System. Available at: https://sciencing.com/disadvantages-egyptian-numeral-system-8509195.html (Accessed: 4 November 2018).

Wilkins, C. (2018) ‘The fact is, learning times tables does pupils a world of good’. Available at: https://www.tes.com/news/fact-learning-times-tables-does-pupils-world-good (Accessed: 2 November 2018).