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Re:Preferred number by hyperpallium on Friday July 31, 2015 @02:18AM (#9980207)
That's what they said when we switched from the 12 inch foot to the meter!
Re:Preferred number by mikeash on Friday July 31, 2015 @01:15PM (#9982930)
Switching measurement systems is tough, but switching number systems would be about a million times harder. (Or about 12^5.5 times harder, if you prefer.) I have trouble imagining where you'd even start....
Re:Preferred number by hyperpallium on Saturday August 01, 2015 @02:17PM (#9988049)
True, but my point was that imperial had those benefits of divisibility, yet we switched away from it...
Re:Preferred number by mikeash on Saturday August 01, 2015 @02:44PM (#9988195)
Because it conflicted with our number system, and we (mostly...) decided that harmony with the number system was better than divisibility. If both were base 12, there wouldn't be any conflict.