this post was submitted on 23 May 2025
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[–] [email protected] 142 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I think when I first saw this comic, the punchline was "what's a four?" which I find funnier.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago

Yes this is the better version that I've seen too

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Every number system is base 10.

Binary is base 1+1.
Ternary is base 2+1.
Octal is base 7+1.
Decimal is base 9+1.
Duodecimal is base B+1.
Hexadecimal is base F+1.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Excuse me but 1+1=2 not 10. Binary is base 2. Check mate.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Try explain that to non binary people. They won't get it

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The joke "there are 10 kinds of people in the world" exists for a reason.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

There are 2 kinds of people in the world : Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

I like the little detail, that the alien has 10 fingers.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago

The alien in the weird suit has 22 fingers

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 10
  5. 11
  6. 12
  7. 13
  8. 20
  9. 21
  10. 22

The astronaut should've told the alien "I use base 22."

[–] [email protected] 32 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)
[–] [email protected] 107 points 3 weeks ago

When you count up the 1's place, you go 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and then it rolls over into the 10s place.

But in "base 4", it goes: 0,1,2,3,10,11,12,13,20. 3 is the highest value possible in any of the digits place.

Therefore "10" in base 4 = 4 in base 10, but saying it in base 4 is written as 10.

You can change your base to any base and whatever base it is would have to be written as base 10 because the number above the highest one in that base doesnt exist, it's 10.

[–] [email protected] 57 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Lots of good explanations here, but one thing I'd like to clarify. WHY we add digits together to represent larger numbers. Understanding this helped me to count in binary when I was a young IT technician.

In base 10, we have 10 numbers we use to count everything, each represented by a single digit 0-9. There is no single digit to represent the number 10, so we add a digit to the left and start over at 0 on the right. Hence, the number 10. Then 11-19 in serial.

But we've run out of digits to use again. So we add another digit to the left and start over on the right. Thus, 20.

When you get to 100, you're now starting over at the right-most digit and have to fill up both right digits before the left digit moves up one.

Same goes for binary, where the only two digits are 0 and 1. Once you've counted to one, you've run out of digits to use, so you add a 1 to the left and start over on the right. So 2 is written as 10 in binary. Then 3 is 11. Then you've run out of digits again, so you add another one to the far left and start over. 4 is 100. 5 is 101. 6 is 110. 7 is 111. No more space, so add another 1 to the left and start over. 8 is 1000. 9 is 1001. 10 is 1010. 11 is 1011. 12 is 1100. And so on...

With computers, we sometimes use a hexadecimal numbering system, also known as base 16 (hex = 6, deca = 10). In this case, we need 16 unique digits before we start reusing them. So we borrow from the alphabet. We use 0-9, then go through A-F before we add a 1 to the left and start over at 0.

You can literally create a base-anything and use that to count numbers. Once you figure out how we add digits to count, it's super easy!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago

Good ELI5 of the concept

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago

Really good explanation. Always thought I had a general grasp of both binary and hexadecimal, but never really bothered to truly understand. Now I do from 1 minute of reading a comment. Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

The number to describe a base is always the number 10 in that base

For example binary is base 2, it has only 1 and 0 as digits, and 2 in binary is 10.

Similarly for 4, and base 10.

So no matter what your numbering system is, with that system it is always base “10”

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Every base has a 10. Base 4 numbering goes 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 20 etc...

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

My bad, but I guess I won't have bad luck

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago

that's 7 in base 10, so actually it's good luck you're not having

(assuming luck goes by numerical value and not written representation)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

One, two... FIVE

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

"Base" is the number of distinct integers you have in play. In Base 10, there are ten of them. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can think of the numeric representation 10 as "1 ten, and 0 ones."

In Base 2 (binary) the only two digits available are 0 and 1. The first four binary numbers are 0, 1, 10, 11, which represent zero, one, two, and three. In Base 2, "10" means "1 two, and 0 ones." But, "Base 2" can't be written in binary, there's no concept of 2! Indeed, the way we reflect two in binary is 10. Which means, when we're talking in binary, "Base 2" is written as "Base 10."

This holds true for EVERY base. In Base 4, we have the digits 0, 1, 2, and 3. So if we want a value of four, we need to write it as 10. "1 four, 0 ones". So, when we're talking in Base 4, the way to say "Base 4" is ALSO by saying "Base 10"!

The trick behind it is that numbers written don't have context-free meaning. You can't communicate what "10" means without knowing how many distinct digits your conversational partner is working with. Most people have centralized on base 10, but there's no inherent advantage to doing things that way. Indeed, it's kind of awkward in lots of ways. Consider Base 12 (the digits of which are most often 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, as an aside). In Base 12, you can easily divide your base numbers by 1, 2, 3, 4. That's SUPER handy, since we obviously break things up into groups of 3 and 4 pretty often in our daily lives, but that's pretty painful in Base 10 because you immediately run into the need for fractions.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

If you count in base 10 (from 0 to 19):

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Base 4 (from 0 to 7):

0 1 2 3

10 11 12 13

Base 16 (from 0 to 31):

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e f

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1a 1b 1c 1d 1e 1f

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 weeks ago (10 children)

It's a language issue. We say 10 because we don't have a single digit symbol to represent 10. If a alien with 20 fingers came we wouldn't recognized their symbols for anything bigger than 9. Base 4 creatures don't use 4 because after 3 comes 10 for them.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Base 16 is used all the time in computer science. The symbols for 9+ aren't arcane or unrecognizable it's 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F. It's often written with an 0X in front to indicate hexadecimal or something like 'h for hex and 'd for decimal.

Examples:

  • 'h7 = 'd7
  • 'hC = 'd12
  • 'hF = 'd15
  • 'h7CF = 'd(7 × 16^2^) + (12 × 16^1^) + (15 × 16^0^) = 'd1792 + 'd192 + 'd15 = 'd1999
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

What do you mean they don't use A B C D E for 10 11 12 13 13 15?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

We wouldn't recognize the aliens symbols for 0-9 at first either.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

should interstellar contact ever actually happen, maths would be the first (and for a long while, probably the only) thing we'd actually be able to communicate in.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago

are belong to us

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

When I was bored in math class I used to convert my homework into binary to see if it still worked.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Every base is base 10.

What about base 0? Checkmate, mathists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unary_numeral_system

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

it would be 'what's a base?'

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago

Humans use base 0x0A. Beep boop.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

all your base are belong to us

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

If the human was smart he would say that we use base 22. Then everyone would understand.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

yeah but to be fair how smart can an astronaut be

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Hey everyone! We have this skyscraper sized tank of hydrogen and oxidizer! Who wants to sit on top when we light it on fire?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

In Chinese/Japanese, there's 四 rocks in both base 10, and base 4. (8 rocks would be 二四 in base 4).

I think the concept of "base" is easier to understand when you include a numeral for the highest base (10 = 十, 20 =二十).

Of course, arabic numerals are more concise, using position to imply meaning (21 = 二十一).

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[–] iknowitwheniseeit 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I only see bleem rocks though. Where are people getting 3 and 4 from?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago

i only recognize bleem as two possible things. dropout.tv's Brennan Lee Mulligan or the company that emulated playstation games on the dreamcast, got sue by sony and won, setting the precedent that emulation is a legal process, but folded under the weight of the lawsuit anyway.

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