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   ken (ken@pleroma.kenhutton.uk)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 22:23:06 JST ken

   in reply to

   • Naomi P
   • Token Sane Person
   @tokensane @gannet
   Interesting stuff. If anyone else is put off by Scientific American's cookie choice form, you can read about this on wikipedia instead - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaktovik_numerals.
   
   The lower part reminds me of five bar gates, box #tallies or a Chinese #tally, but adding fives to make numerals out of them is neat. As base twenty numerals, with a sub base of five, they go really well with old British counting - what's commonly called #SheepCounting.
   
   The names of the numbers vary from region to region, but I count: yahn, tain, tether, mether, mumph; hither, thither, over, dover, dic; yahn, tain, tether, mether mumphit; yahn, tain, tether, mether, jigif. I find it easier to keep my place counting this way. The rhyme, cadence and repetition also have a soothing effect on some babies, like a #lullaby - which is where the idea of counting sheep to go to sleep comes from.
   
   You could limit yourself to one line at the top to use them for "normal" base ten numbers. I do like how clearly they look like the number they represent.
   • Embed this notice
     Token Sane Person (tokensane@mastodon.me.uk)'s status on Friday, 14-Apr-2023 22:23:12 JST Token Sane Person

     Inuit children invented their own system for writing numbers which makes arithmetic easier. Now its in Unicode.

     https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-number-system-invented-by-inuit-schoolchildren-will-make-its-silicon-valley-debut/

     Paul Cantrell repeated this.