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/sci/ - Science & Math

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1060332 No.1060332 [Reply] [Original]

Humans have a base ten number system because we have 10 fingers
A week has 7 days.
Why?
It doesn't make sense especially because the number of days in a year isn't divisible by 7. Why pick that number?

>> No.1060334

Because God said so.

>> No.1060353

Because it's the number 23. Fucking christ, STFU!!!

>> No.1060361

Why 12 months for that matter

>> No.1060369

>>1060332
lrn2thebible

>> No.1060378

I believe the weeks were based on phases of the moon.

>> No.1060381

based on the seven spheres
back when there were only seven planets were discovered
there's also a musical note associated with each planet, literally the music of the spheres

>> No.1060386

There used to be 10 months, then July and August were added by Julius Ceaser and His son.

The Length of the year is based on the time it takes the Earth to orbit the sun. (Longest and shortest days of the year were used to work this out).

Length of Months was originally to do with Moon cycles.

A week used to be 10 days in the Egyptian times. The introduction of 2 extra months meant things had to be moved around to fit it all in 365 days.

LRN2JNRSCHOOLHISTORY

>> No.1060387

>>1060361
there used to be only 10 months on the roman calendar, the months july (julius) and august (augustus) were later added based on names of roman emperors

this is why october (octo = eight) becomes the tenth month; same goes with november (nona) and december (deca)

>> No.1060392

>>1060386
>>1060387
there-used-to-be-only-10-months mind

srsly just google this shit

>> No.1060407

It's based on the number of celestial bodies, outdated now of course.
But each day has an associated planet or god. Sunday is obvious, monday is moon, thursday is actually thor. I don't remember the rest, but they're not all from any one mythology.

>> No.1060419

Why 24 hours in a day?
Why 60 minutes in an hour?
Why 60 seconds in a minute?

>> No.1060432

OP also, why are no commonly used fractions based on 10 or 5.

Go look in your kitchen. 1 cup, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4. These have nothing to do with fingers, even though the 1/5 system ought to be easier to use if people used fingers.

>> No.1060433

>>1060419
24 hours is the time it takes for the earth to complete one full rotation

as for why the duodecimal or sexagesimal number system is used for time, this article can explain it more clearly than i can:
scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=experts-time-division-days-hours-minutes

>> No.1060434

>>1060407
>>1060381
It's weird that you mention planets, because according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-day_week#Origins
The planet thing only started in the 2nd century in the Roman empire.
Was it a memory from school?

>> No.1060439

>>1060432
it's because most humans think of fractions using the circle as a mental image (representing one whole), it's easier to divide a circle into two or four equal parts than five

>> No.1060441

>>1060419

Excellent questions. I always wondered why that is.

And for that matter, why does a new "day" start in the middle of the night? Shouldn't it start at dawn (or maybe and hour before dawn)?

>> No.1060443

>>1060407
Sunday = Sun (Norse)
Monday = Moon (Norse)
Tuesday = Tyr (Norse)
Wednesday = Wotan (Odin - Norse))
Thursday = Thor (Odin'g son - Norse)
Friday = Frigga (Odin's wife - Norse)
Saturday = Saturn (Roman god)

>> No.1060447

7-day week is based on religion.

>> No.1060448
File: 12 KB, 364x533, Sidereal_Time_en.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1060448

>>1060419
A sidereal day is almost 24 hours, that's why.

360 / 24 = 15 (15 time zones)

etc etc go from there

>> No.1060457

who determined how long one second is?
i read that it's based on the vibrations of some element i can't remember but how did people do it before the invention of microscopes and other scientific shit

>ITT: stuff they don't explain in school because kids are too dumb to think about shit and regurgitate whatever their teacher told them

>> No.1060458

>>1060441
In Judaism, it actually starts at sunset. A day is composed of night-day. So the first day of the week starts Saturday night and continues until Sunday evening, and the second is from Sunday night till Monday night, etc.

I think, to make it easier, they switched to day/night cycles, to match when you wake up. This is all conjecture, but I would think that a good amount of people woke up earlier than or around sunrise when the convention was established, so they just made it some arbitrary time in the night.

>> No.1060537

>>1060441
because dawn is always changing

>> No.1060556

>>1060458
>so they just made it some arbitrary time in the night.

no they didn't, they made it be at midnight which is exactly half a day after noon which is the highest point of the sun in the sky

>> No.1060604

>>1060556
Ummm. I think highest point changes day by day

>> No.1060623

>>1060604
no, only the height, the maximum is always at the same time

>> No.1060628

EARTH HAS 4 CORNER

SIMULTANEOUS 4-DAY

TIME CUBE

IN ONLY 24 HOUR ROTATION.

4 CORNER DAYS, CUBES 4 QUAD EARTH- No 1 Day God.

>> No.1060631

>>1060457
It's by the rate of which a radioactive Cesium isotope decays at.

>> No.1060664

On the 7th day God rested

>> No.1060667

>>1060631
but how did ancient peoples measured it

>> No.1060704

24 Hours, because more things go into 24 than most other numbers?

>> No.1060717

>>1060704
wat
it's twenty four because that's the number of hours it takes for the earth to complete a rotation

>> No.1060760

>>1060717
only if you decide to make an hour 60 minutes

>> No.1060778

>>1060667

A 1 meter long pendulum swings once every second.

>> No.1060781

>>1060717
btw is it exactly 24 or near 24?

>> No.1060933

>Humans have a base ten number system because we have 10 fingers
Nope. Decimal counting is just one system out of many.

English and all Germanic languages at one point had a mixed duodecimal (base 12) and decimal counting system, as evidenced by the words "eleven" (from Proto-Germanic meaning 'one left') and "twelve" (from Proto-Germanic meaning 'two left'). Contrast these with "thirteen" ('three [and] ten').

Several cultures, including the Yuki of California, have an octal (base 8) counting system, using the spaces between the fingers.

The Gumatj of Australia have a quinary (base 5) counting system, using only one hand.

The week comes from the various cultures of the Ancient Middle East. We got it from the Romans, who adopted it from the Jews and Christians around the 1st to 3rd Century CE, who got it from the Babylonians around the 6th Century BCE.

The Babylonians had a Lunar calender, which was flexible. There were three seven-day weeks, and then one longer week of around eight or nine days. The divisions came from days within the month they sacrificed to specific gods on. For example, you would sacrifice to Marduk and Ishtar on the 7th Day. The 15th Day, more or less the night of the full moon, was known as Sapattum, which was likely borrowed into ancient Hebrew (as Shabbat) to become our modern "Sabbath".

And now you know.

>> No.1060939

>>1060378
>moon
>>1060378
>>1060378
>>1060378
>>1060378
>>1060378

>> No.1060948

>>1060933

Thanks anon!

>> No.1060955
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1060955

>> No.1060959

>>1060328

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