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Comment by nayuki

That's exactly the kind of thinking that I'm alluding to. Okay, if base 12 is so great, why are gallons not divisible by 12? Why is our currency not divisible by 12? Why is a mile 1760 yards - what if you wanted to parcel a square mile into thirds on each side? Why is an inch partitioned into binary fractions? Why are pounds not divisible by 12? The imperial customs (it's hard to even call it a system) have no internal consistency.

To add to the observation about lack of internal consistency: Metalworkers use decimal inches. Woodworkers use feet, inches, and binary fractions. Surveyors use decimal feet. Some people use decimal miles. You could argue that each of the aforementioned systems make sense on its own, but none of them interoperate. Seriously - you'll be baffled if you pick up a decimal foot measuring tape in real life (they exist). Metric doesn't have this problem because if someone is doing detailed work in millimetres, someone is planning a house's rooms in metres, and someone is organizing a town's land in kilometres, they can all work with each other by simply moving the decimal place and changing the prefix.

Another problem is that you're presupposing that the products you interact with are designed in a whole number of feet, and then you subdivide from there. I don't see this as true at all; things come in all sizes like 2'5", how are you going to divide that into thirds?

parent nayuki 3 years ago

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