Incan Counting System Decoded?

Discovery News ^ | Feb 3 2004 | By Rossella Lorenzi

[vannrox]

Very cool.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

"How would one explain the many statements in the Spanish chronicles, both those written by Spaniards and by literate Andeans, who stated quite straightforwardly that the Inca used a base 10 counting system?

Well, we use a base 10 counting system in everyday life, but we use a base 2 counting system in our calculating machines.

[SpinyNorman]

I have to dust off my "Chariots of the Gods" book collection.....

[Redbob]

Where do you suppose we got our base-12 system?

And how well-developed could their civilization have been when they didn't know about wheels?

[Gothmog]

Their problem now is that all their base now belong to us, ha ha ha.

[Constitution Day]

LOL!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Where do you suppose we got our base-12 system?

What base 12 system?

And how well-developed could their civilization have been when they didn't know about wheels?

We are talking about their mathematical counting system.

You must have a mighty large inferiority complex to want to turn that into passing judgement on a civilization that died out hundreds of years ago.

[martin_fierro]

"It took me about 40 minutes to solve the riddle. I am not an expert on pre-Columbian civilizations. I simply decoded a 16th century drawing from a book on mathematical enigmas I received as a Christmas present," engineer Nicolino De Pasquale said.

Memo to self: Must party sometime with that guy. Wooo hooo!

[martin_fierro]

LOL! Damn, ya beat me to it. For Great Justice.

[NotQuiteCricket]

How dare this man, this person think that he figured something out, when archaeologist have beaten their heads against this problem for decades! The nerve. He should have just shut up and not even bothered to mention it. Everyone knows that the only person who can make a judgment on something like this, is someone who has gone to university to study it. The arrogance of this fool to assume that he can understand this is amazing!

[George from New England]

12 inches = 1 foot
12 times 12 = 1 gross

[azhenfud]

"And how well-developed could their civilization have been when they didn't know about wheels?"

They were fixing to get ready to get a "round" to it...

[azhenfud]

1x12=1 dozen

[singletrack]

6 pack, 12 pack, case............

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Okay, so where did we get our base-12 system?

And what difference does it make?

[ClearCase_guy]

"We would need to find a Rosetta Yupana"

I'll check my High School Yearbook -- I think she's in there.

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[cinFLA]

How dare this man, this person think that he figured something out, when archaeologist have beaten their heads against this problem for decades! The nerve. He should have just shut up and not even bothered to mention it. Everyone knows that the only person who can make a judgment on something like this, is someone who has gone to university to study it. The arrogance of this fool to assume that he can understand this is amazing!

Are you so closed to new ideas? He makes no claims, just presents an idea. Most of the article is devoted to other people's evaluations of his idea. Did you even bother to read the article?

[elli1]

And how well-developed could their civilization have been when they didn't know about wheels?

The wheel invention spread by diffusion, invented in Sumaria around 3500 BC; the Brits didn't know about the wheel until approximately three thousand years later. In fact, evidence points to Mexico as the only place that invented the wheel (thought to have been a toy) independent of the Sumarian version. The folks in the Americas didn't know what to do with it, in part probably because they didn't have draft animals.

OTOH, it sure as heck took a long time for ''superior cultures'' to decipher the Incan calculator.

[Bikers4Bush]

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