Dozenal

So dek is a fancy X and el is an upside down 3

So, with dozenal, you count one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, dek, el, do.

Works Cited

A Brief Introduction to Dozenal Counting. Dozenal Society of America, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

<http://dozenal.org/drupal/sites/default/files/db38206_0.pdf>.

Eggsactly a Dozen. Dozenal Society of America, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

<http://dozenal.org/drupal/sites/default/files/db2610b_0.pdf>.

Fundamental Operations in the Duodecimal System. Dozenal Society of America, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

<http://dozenal.org/drupal/sites/default/files/db31315_0.pdf>.

Manual of the Dozen System (MODS). Dozenal Society of America, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

<http://dozenal.org/drupal/sites/default/files/ManualOfThe

DozenSystem1174-web_0.pdf>.

So if the decimal system was chosen to fit with the ten fingers, how would you fix this problem?

The simple solution to fix this problem is to count your phalanges (the little parts of your finger) with your thumb.

multiplication

Many properties that exist in decimal aren't exclusive to that number system. Some properties that carry over are ones that you learn young but don't always think about.

When you count by nines in decimal, or in els in dozenal, the ones column goes down by one when the other column goes up by one.

Another is when the six in dozenal and the five in decimal alternate with a zero in the multiplication table.

Of course, basic operations have the same principle. They use the same signs and have the same meanings. This also means that all the more complex operations work in similar ways.

basic operations

pi

Pi in decimal:

3.14159265358979

Pi in dozenal:

3.184809493B9186

zero

In dozenal, a zero has the same purpose as decimal. It holds an empty place value. It has the same properties. Multiplying by zero results in zero. Any number of zeroes in a row represent that many empty places.

(B just represents el, because I couldn't find the character code)

YOUR NEW GUIDE TO:

What is the dozenal system?

Also known as duodecimal, the dozenal system is an alternative to the traditional decimal system. Unlike the decimal system, the dozenal system uses a base of twelve rather than a base of ten.

DOZENAL

How do you count in dozenal?

Since the dozenal system has two extra characters, let me introduce them to you.

dek

(10)

fractions

el

(11)

Many fractions in dozenal are shorter and easier to calculate.

one sixth

one fourth

one third

one half

two thirds

three fourths

five sixths

.16

.25

.3

.5

.6

.75

.83

.2

.3

.4

.6

.8

.9

.X

If the dozenal system is so amazing, why don't we all just use it? Well, it's not that simple. Everything would have to be changed, including things like keyboards, clocks, money, and books. Most people don't even think about using a number system. It just comes naturally because it's what everybody learns.

Don't worry. I'll explain.

At this point, you still might be confused.

Why not switch now?

Today, most people and places use a decimal system every day. But not everyone thinks about things so common in a mathematical sense. It comes naturally because it is something people are taught from a young age. People count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. But do they ever think about why they add the second decimal place after 9? Probably not. Those who do think about it wonder how that makes sense at all. Most of those people think that the decimal system is used because of a biological mistake. Humans are born with ten fingers.

percent

While most people use the percentage, the dozenal systems uses a similar way to represent portions. It is called egrossage, and it works almost exactly the same way percentage does. It is out of 100 for both, but 100 means gro (decimal equivalent = 144) in dozenal. The symbol for egrossage is / , not %.

g

e

So why twelve?

Twelve is the lowest common multiple of 1, 2, 3, and 4, making simple calculations easier. Also, the brain can easily recognize the factors of 12.

If people were to switch from decimal to dozenal, what would they be missing?

There aren't many advantages that solely exist with the decimal number system. One thing that would change is that children couldn't be taught to count their fingers (even though they could still count with their fingers).