I'm making a race that counts in base 7 but I'm having trouble with the worldbuilding for why that is. Is their a reason that a creature evolved to the point of being a sentient humanoid would be asymmetric as one would probably be to develop base 7? This race doesn't really belong to a homebrewed world yet so there is pretty much free reign on what the cause is.
>>48231801
Religious reasons maybe?
But really, having your "native" base be prime number is kind of bullshit. Unless you are a computer.
>>48231801
>I'm making a race that counts in base 7
>but I'm having trouble with the worldbuilding for why that is
So you thought "oh yeah having a different number system would be neat!" and didn't otherwise think of why that would develop in the first place?
>>48231801
>Is their a reason that a creature evolved to the point of being a sentient humanoid would be asymmetric
Is there a reason they wouldn't?
>>48231801
They've got eight eyes and no real digits to count on. They don't use base eight because closing all your eyes when you count is dumb.
>>48231801
3 fingers on each hand and they learn to count with their dick too.
>>48231801
Couldn't they have two hands with seven fingers each and have arbitrarily decided the number of fingers on one hand rather than on both hands was the one to base their number system on?
>>48231801
Depending on how you look at it humans have 5 extremities (arms, legs head), so it wouldn't be that weird to have a creature with 7
>>48231855
Why didn't I think about fractions... Okay, great point on the prime number thing. Of course there was a reason it hasn't developed before. This whole thing is a moot point know really
If memory serves me right, the ancient greeks (and older) used base 12
>>48231907
>2 fingers on each hand and they learn to count with their dicks too.
>>48231929
I came here to say this. Do it OP.
>>48232026
Also, in case it's not obvious, this would mean they count with a ones hand and a sevens hand. If humans did the same, we could count up to 30 on our fingers.
>>48231801
Seven fingers. Left hand is multiples of seven. Count up to 49!
>>48232081
If you count in base 2 on your fingers you can count really high
>>48231801
FIDDLER CRAB PEOPLE!
Five fingers on left hand, right hand is a BIG MEATY CLAW!
They natively count to seven.
They are quadrupedal with four (or six, on males) legs (the males have the extra two to hold on to females, also: manspread on subways.) Because their legs are irregular in number, they count on their fingers, and the CLAW.
>>48232211
You can count to 56, I think, if you go by your current number being (Left Hand)x7+(Right Hand).
>>48232400
Technically if they had two hands with seven fingers each, they could count to 63 in base 8 since zero is a digit. But I'm not sure that would be intuitive for a humanoid race.
>>48231801
Humans are asymmetric too. Our limbs and chests often vary in size. Then our internal arrangement is obviously asymmetric.
3 fingers per hand + prehensile tail
3 fingers on their hand, and count their head/vision as the seventh, and they worship things in 7ths because it symbolizes their sense of self.
>>48232266
am I the only person who does this?
>>48231888
just spitballing here, but I think it's because symmetry allows for more redundancy.
>>48231801
Base 10 is common amongst humans but by no means universal.
>>48232523
Technically, in the two seven-fingered hands idea they WOULD be counting in base 8.
fingers on hands - base10 number
00
01 - 1
02 - 2
etc
07 - 7
10 - 8
11 - 9
This is base 8 count.
Base10 fingercounting is just an out of line with the way scientific maths function. Technically it would be base 11 if we used all our ten fingers for one digit. But we tried to use them for both.
2x7 fingered creatures may naturally arrive at a more properly scientific fingercount
>>48231801
Well, humans have used base 10 and base 12/13 counting systems.
Base 7 could work for a 6 fingered race that treats one hand as a ones had and a second hand as a tens hand, similar to how we can count up to a gross (144) using one of our hands as a singles hand and the other as a dozens hand.
To count in base 13 on the human hand use each of the 3 sections on each of your 4 fingers on one hands (use your thumb as a marker). Your other hand is used to track completed dozens(base 12) or mark "10s" (base 13).
Primary hand.
Pinkie has 1, 2, 3
Ring has 4, 5, 6
Middle has 7, 8, 9
Index has 10, 11, 12
Secondary hand (base 12)
Pinkie 12, 24, 36
Ring 48, 60, 72
Middle 84, 96, 108
Index 120, 132, 144
Secondary hand (base 13)
Pinkie 13, 26, 39
Ring 52, 65, 78
Middle 91, 104, 117
Index 130, 143, 156
Not every human civilisation or culture counts in base 10
The whole "counting on your fingers" thing, is what we use, however there are tribes and shit that count using base 32 and shit like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4bmZ1gRqCc
This will be a useful thing to watch for working out base systems for a race
(also mono-culture races a shit, not every member of the species will use the same base etc)
>>48238134
OK, so tell us how/why the base13 system developed and we'll help you more with base7.
>>48231801
Same reason americunts use inches and feet.
Just cus
>>48234192
I do it sometimes. When I was in highschool, a friend demonstrated it after I demonstrated counting to 110 using two hands. At least I think that's how it happened; it's been a while, much too long a while.
>>48238472
This gif upsets me, and I don't understand why. What is happening here? Why? How?
>>48234192
>>48238954
This doesn't sound very comfortable. Like, try to bend only pinkie and middle finger, while keeping every other finger straight.
>>48239401
It probably gets easier with practice.
>>48239477
Just like your mother.
>>48238472
I am not the OP, but thanks, this is great video.
>>48231907
Or a Tail. You could just give them a Tail and they use that while counting
>>48235034
You mean like how we have an even number of fingers on a hand?
Oh wait.
Just make it base 17 and give them 7 fingers on each hand or something.
Or just give them 3, but for cultural reasons they also count the head, so 7.
You are massively overthinking trying to make this "make sense"
It's not a case of 10 being super logical so of course we use it, it's a case of us using 10, so of course it seems super logical when everything is built on it.
>>48231801
Way back in the day (as in early to mid bronze age) a few mid east cultures used base 6.
>>48239999
What the fuck does symmetry have to do with having an odd or even number of digits?
