The origin of decimal system

The origin of decimal system is as follows:

I. Origin

The adoption of decimal system for human arithmetic may be related to the fact that humans have ten fingers. Aristotle claimed that the universal use of the decimal system by humans was simply the result of the anatomical fact that the vast majority of people are born with 10 fingers. In fact, of the independently developed written notation systems in the ancient world, almost all of them were decimal, with the exception of the Babylonian civilization's cuneiform numerals, which were in base 60, and the Mayan numerals, which were in base 20. Except that these decimal notation systems were not bitwise.

Two, basic information

Chinese name: decimal; category algorithm.

Inventor: Aristotle; origin Shang Dynasty.

Three, and weights and measures

Chinese decimal weights and measures have a long history. A Zhou dynasty ruler from the 6th century B.C. is inscribed with tenths of an inch and hundredths of a minute.

Wang Mang's officials set a bronze capacity standard of one hundred pairs, with one dendro = ten buckets, one bucket = ten liters, and one liter = 10 hectoliters.

Traditional weights and measures do not use the decimal system exclusively, e.g., one catty equals 16 taels, one foot equals 12 inches, etc. The metric system uses the decimal system exclusively, making conversions more straightforward. The government of the Republic of China implemented the municipal system in the 1920s to converge with the metric system, and in the 1980s, the Hong Kong government publicized the benefits of the decimal system, with slogans such as "Adopt the Decimal System, Fair and Easy to Calculate" or "Decimal System, Good and Easy to Calculate," etc. However, the old system, the imperial system, is still in common use. However, the old system, the British system, and other non-decimal conversions are still commonly used.