Gaius Octavius Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 (edited) Did the number twelve have some special significance to Romans? Twelve Winds; Twelve Tables; Math to the base Twelve. Edited December 26, 2007 by Gaius Octavius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthe Posted December 27, 2007 Report Share Posted December 27, 2007 Did the number twelve have some special significance to Romans? Twelve Winds; Twelve Tables; Math to the base Twelve. I am not aware of any specific significance to the use of twelve by the Romans apart from one. The Romans were obviously practical in their approach to most things, and if something allowed them to solve problems with greater ease, they were likely to do so. Since twelve was a much better number for division due to its factors (2, 3, 4 and 6),and since halves , quarters and thirds were the first three fractions that were likely to be encountered in everyday activities, then the Romans used it as the basis for most calculations involving fractions. Unfortunately, due to human physiology and our two hands with a total of ten digits, most integer arithmetic was based on ten and not twelve, except of course for western weights and measures which had a long life with a component of twelve. Those were 12 ounces in a pound (before the English changed the avoirdupois to 16 ounces per pound), 12 inches in a foot and 12 pennies in a shilling, all directly traceable to Roman measures. Like the Romans, and despite the introduction of the Hindu Arabic number system and the later introduction of decimal fractions, these measures remained in use, simply because they were of practical value to the working man, the baker, the carpenter, the butcher, the accountant, the grocer and of course, the general public. There is no reason why the number system could not be extended to be a duodecimal system. A ten based system is not special, and in fact is less practical than a twelve based system. Too bad the Romans and then the French Acadamy didn't make that intellectual leap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 A ten based system is not special, and in fact is less practical than a twelve based system. Too bad the Romans and then the French Acadamy didn't make that intellectual leap. Could you please elaborate on this point? I'm very curious about it. (I'm sorry if I'm taking us far off topic now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted December 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 (I'm sorry if I'm taking us far off topic now) Doesn't bother me in the slightest. Go to it. ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthe Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Klingan said: Ruthe said: A ten based system is not special, and in fact is less practical than a twelve based system. Too bad the Romans and then the French Acadamy didn't make that intellectual leap. Could you please elaborate on this point? I'm very curious about it. (I'm sorry if I'm taking us far off topic now) Have a look at these previous threads in this forum first. The date and name for each is the date of the last post and the person who made it. Roman Numerals & Fractions. 6th July 2007 - 03:08 AM SKStephenson Roman Mathematics 5th July 2007 - 09:41 PM SKStephenson Twelve? 19th June 2007 - 05:31 PM Pantagathus Greek Numerical System and Mathematics 24th Feb 2007 - 07:30 PM Gaius Octavius Roman Mathematics 14th Feb 2007 - 02:18 PM Ruthe If you would like more specific detail, just ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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