I mean unless people had 6 fingers it would seem counter-intuitive to use any numbering system that does not have a base that is a multiple of 5. Or am I missing something?
In: Mathematics
You’re missing the inherent advantages a sexagesimal system has when used for specific things.
60, the base number, can be factored down to 1 extremely easily- 60, 30, 20, 15, 12, 10, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. With this system, it’s very easy to calculate fractions of a whole, which made it very popular in ancient societies that had trading economies.
Obviously, this system has largely been superceded by base-10 decimals today. However, it remains popular for specific uses like timekeeping and geography for the same reasons- both rely heavily on subdividing a single unit into smaller pieces, and they’re things humans have been doing that specific way for thousands of years- so change will be slow.
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