- cross-posted to:
- programmer_humor@programming.dev
- cross-posted to:
- programmer_humor@programming.dev
i don’t remember where i got this from
this meme is only 15KB btw
You must log in or # to comment.
I love how the alien has 10 fingers!
And the creature on the left does too.
I had to look up the joke. Very clever. Nerds.
The joke: In any base X, the Xth number is always the first number to require a second digit. Base 4 goes 1,2,3,10,11,12,13,20,21,etc. Base 7 goes 1,2,3,4,5,6,10,etc.
So the base is always written as base 10 in the native base. So base 2 (in decimal) is base 10 (in base 2)
If you want another example, try counting to 10 in hex (base 16).
Also, base 10 is always base 10, but “10” in base 2 is 2 in all counting systems above base 2 (since base 2 doesn’t actually include 2, just like base 10 doesn’t include “A”). Likewise, 10 in base 10 represented in base 2 would be 1010. ;)
Base 1 is “base 0”.
0 is expressed as .
1 is 0.
2 is 00, and so on.
Base 1 usually uses ones, because it represents summation at that point. Using zero as the numeral would be a bit awkward. Also historically zero is pretty new.
Tally marks are essentially a base 1 system.
Numbering systems all essentially evolved from base 1. People started out keeping track of wheat/barley using tally marks representing a single stalk, then creating different tally marks representing bushels, baskets, etc. More intentionally designed number systems based on things like the number of fingers on our hands came later.
But the joke would only work written, not spoken first contact? Base five we would still say five just the numerals would show 10.
That alien doesn’t even have a numeral for 4, so it wouldn’t have a word for it either. If it speaks English, uses base 4, and uses the same words we do for numbers, it would sound like this when counting rocks: “One, two, three, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, twenty…”. But when it says “twelve”, it means the same thing as when we say “six”.
This made me realize that I am a nerd. Sad.
Two possible solutions to this:
- Always use a single digit for the base. Examples: binary is base 2, decimal is base A (because A=10 in bases higher than decimal), hexadecimal is base G.
- Use the highest digit plus one. Examples: binary is base 1+1, decimal is base 9+1, hexadecimal is base F+1.
… or we just continue to agree that bases are always written in
base 10decimal unless specified otherwise. By the way, how does the alien speak English?As the alien uses base 4, the number 4 does not exist to it. After 3 comes 10, so he usea base 10 and does not understand what 4 is
yeah I got it
Just use Roman numerals to throw your baseless assumptions around.
Comicjoke aside, none of these are needed - as soon as the alien called the pile of 4 rocks “10” we could deduce his base.
i think the highest digit should be the base. we use base 9, binary is base 1, hex base F
It’s a good idea, but it’s not backwards-compatible with the system already in use.
When has that ever stopped us from making new systems and standards?
Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/927/
Or we use binary to write all bases, since binary is the simplest. So English uses base 1010, and the alien is using base 100.
This system does break down when trying to use a base that isn’t a positive integer. I’ve heard of people trying to use base e (yes, as in euler’s number) for maths research.
How does it break down? It seems like it would work normally, if a little strangely
or use the base’s name: quaternary for base 4, decimal for base 10…
there is a video about it, as well as how to handle an infinite number of bases with that system
What about base 789432? What letter do we use for that?
What letter do you use for 789431?
7̵̛̝̯̜̱͔̭̙̭̟͚̹8̷̛̦͉͕̺̽̑̍̓͜͝9̷̩̜̩͈̠͕͊͌̎̍̃͂͌̌͘͝ͅ4̶̡̪̼̠̲̠͍̬͔̉̽3̷̟̝̮̫̪̖̹̽́̈͑̂̊̋͝1̴̢̛̱̠̻͍̞͆̊̈́͘
Well, you better come up with a lot of numeral representations… 789422 of them.
I’ve had my fair share of mini-mind blowns, and that time I realized this was one of them.
right? i can’t believe i never clocked this. how exceptionalist that the base number is base 10 /j
Holy shit. actual mind blown moment.
Base successor(successor(successor(successor(zero))))
Can’t argue about bases if you refuse to elaborate beyond Presburger arithmetic. (Guy pointing at head meme)
Could anyone explain this to me? I get why the astronaut would think the alien counts in base 4, but I don’t understand the alien’s response
base 4 has just 4 digits: 0,1,2,3
so counting goes likes this:
0 1 2 3 10 11 12 13 20 and so on.
since what we call 4 is written as 10 to the alien, the alien calls base 4 base 10
So then we would tell the alien we use base 21?
Yes 22 would make sense to the alien.
Thanks :)
The alien only knows base 4. The astronaut says base 4 and that he uses base 10.
Think about: What is “4” in base 4?
The alien says, it uses base 1 0, which is 1 * 4 + 0 * 1.So the term “base 10” (in base 4) is the same like “base 4” in base 10.
The alien does not know, what base 4 is, because you cannot count to 4 in base 4.
Thanks :)
Thanks :)
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.I learned this one from project Hail Mary, sci-fi worth reading
I think I had this comic saved like twenty years ago and I also don’t remember where I found it.
In written English we use base twelve but then switch to base ten after that.
Base 1 rules all for nothing exists without 1
All your base are belong to us
I moaned louder than a procreating moose when I finally got it.
::: This only works because it’s a written/printed meme though, because we don’t say “ten” if were are not counting in base 10, we say “one zero base four”, which you further can specifify as 104 in written language. :::
