Base 12 Numbering

The only reason we have a number system based on 10 is because of the biological accident of our having 10 fingers. 12 is a superior base. We recognize the advantages of 12 and have 12 months in the year, 12 hours on the clock, and 12 inches in the foot. We buy and sell items in units of 12. When was the last time you went to the store and purchased a 5 or 10 pack of anything? The primary advantage of 12 over 10 is that you cannot take a 1/3 or a 1/4 of 10 and get an even number, whereas, you can with 12. Nor can you write a third of 10 as a decimal. The number goes on forever, 3.3333. . . Being able to take a third and a forth of your base number and get an whole number is very handy. A secondary advantage is that 12 has more divisors, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, &12 verses 1, 2, 5, & 10 for 10.

The Dozenal Society of America was founded in 1944 and its members have developed a base 12 system of weights and measure that is far superior not only to the English system but also to the French metric system. The metric system is incomplete because it does not have a calendar of 10 months, a clock of 10 hours, nor a circle of 100 degrees.

The use of base 12 will be a boon to the learning of math and science and the application of technology in the new milenium.

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