Discussion what would be a new way to count, not using traditional 1-9?

[Brainy]

how would aliens count? i don't think 1-9 would be universally inherent

so i'm thinking change the logic instead of symbols

it's probably been thought of before but i'll just call it triad counting

the way this works is you have none, single, pair, then it groups into triads

basically bundle every three things so like:

none = nothing
single = one thing
pair = two things
triad = one full group
triad-single = one triad plus single
triad-pair = one triad plus a pair
pair-triad = two triads
pair-triad-single = two triads plus single
pair-triad-pair = two triads plus a pair
nest = three triads bundled together

So instead of 1-9 it's single, pair, triad, triad-single, triad-pair, pair-triad, pair-triad-single, pair-triad-pair, nest

so how about larger amounts? i think every time you get three of a thing you bundle upwards

three singles become a triad
three triads become a nest
three nests become a clan
three clans become a hall
three halls become a fort
idk what to call the rest, castle?

so for example 23 would be pair-nest, pair-triad, pair which would be two nests, two triads, two loose singles

 

[ANTAGONIST]

Humans use 1-9 because we have 10 fingers. Maybe the aliens will use triads if they have three fingers.

 

[Brainy]

Humans use 1-9 because we have 10 fingers. Maybe the aliens will use triads if they have three fingers.

relative to their anatomy, well said brocel

for triad counting though if put into symbols, i speculate shapes are pretty universally accepted because that can be physically represented
but for this i'll use points

∴ becomes triad instead of therefore
: is for pair
. for single

symbols beyond triad idk and i'm too tired to really think about

 

[aks74u]

If your an alien and reading this please take me away from this planet

 

[Brainy]

If your an alien and reading this please take me away from this planet

idk if i had to guess they might be farming people as a delicacy and only taking away the degenerates thus "saving" earth and having a natural species to eat instead of having some ai recreate it. but then again what do they constitute as degeneracy idk also if they'll even take anybody at all

 

[Dead End]

so for example 23 would be pair-nest, pair-triad, pair which would be two nests, two triads, two loose singles

If a single =1, a triad = 3, and a nest = 9, wouldn't pair-nest, pair-triad, pair be 2*9+2*3+2 = 26 and 23 would be pair-nest, triad, pair?

 

[FrothySolutions]

What do you mean by 1-9? Math is universal. We count the way we count because of math.

 

[Brainy]

If a single =1, a triad = 3, and a nest = 9, wouldn't pair-nest, pair-triad, pair be 2*9+2*3+2 = 26 and 23 would be pair-nest, triad, pair?

yeah im retarded

 

[Dead End]

What do you mean by 1-9? Math is universal. We count the way we count because of math.

I think he means the base-10 counting system, which as ANTAGONIST said was adopted because of the number of fingers we have. It's not universal and not the only way to count. Binary (base-2) and hexadecimal (base-16) are other common methods of counting, for instance.

 

[anon65]

You are thinking of numerical base systems. The maya used base 20. Alien civilizations could use any conceivable base system. Probably they would add/stack symbols or numbers to get to higher numbers, as we do.

 

[Brainy]

You are thinking of numerical base systems. The maya used base 20. Alien civilizations could use any conceivable base system. Probably they would add/stack symbols or numbers to get to higher numbers, as we do.

pile system

 

[anon65]

pile system

well, + - * /
all the basic functions could be used in their base system to denote numbers, not just adding

 

[Brainy]

well, + - * /
all the basic functions could be used in their base system to denote numbers, not just adding

what base system would be simpler for an alien to catch onto quickly, or does it matter?

 

[anon65]

what base system would be simpler for an alien to catch onto quickly, or does it matter?

Shouldn't matter too much imo. Once they get to physical sciences, everything is the same as our math, if you converted their number schema to ours or vice versa.

Easiest to catch onto? Appendages, definitely. Or something so striking in their view that they base everything off of. Like having 4-5 moons that orbit your planet. Or being in a three-star system such as alpha centauri.