-43
2+2=4 but what if 4 didn't exist? (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
25 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Could also be using a base 3 or binary system. Or the ever elusive base 1 system.

How many of those do you have?

111

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Technically a base 1 system cannot exist (effectively), because it would mean you were counting from zero (nothing). All base systems for real "math" have to index from null. You couldn't even count using 0, 00, 000, 0000 because how would you know if the first 0 indicated actually zero, or was it the first item? You could only identify it by the absence of all marks, which doesn't work in math or any modern setting.

    Number systems are weird. I hate math sometimes.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    In an oddly appropriate way, base 1 simply uses 0s to add a place holder for each counted item. In other words ‘4’ base 1 is ‘0000’. It exists but it defeats the purpose of symbolic representation of counted items by requiring the observer to count the digits.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent