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Re: OT-ish: txt - Could it replace Standard Written English?

From:Tristan McLeay <kesuari@...>
Date:Friday, March 7, 2003, 15:24
 --- "H. S. Teoh" <hsteoh@...> wrote:
> Well, doing stuff with other bases are very easy. > After all, base 8 is > just like base 10, if you're missing two fingers. > ;-)
Indeed, but doing maths in Base 16 is a lot harder. In bases below 10, I can easily mentally switch into the base I'm learning, and it's plainly obvious to me that 7+1=10 (or 15+33=50). But it makes me so dizzy to add the extra six things to work in 16. (And no, I don't count on my fingers. I think with the digits on a piece of paper, but when doing something like 15+33, I would actually do (4+4)+(10+30).) The *really* confusing thing, though, is is '15 base 16' fifteen, fifsixeteen /"fIfsaikstijn/, or twenty-one? (I like the middle one best, I think (no conversions needed but it won't cofuse you with fifteen), but its likely to greet me with blank stares.) Oh, and is 'one hundred'='100 base 10' or '100 base whatever' etc.? The things they never teach you because no-one ever cares. Tristan http://mobile.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Mobile - Check & compose your email via SMS on your Telstra or Vodafone mobile.

Replies

Peter Bleackley <peter.bleackley@...>
H. S. Teoh <hsteoh@...>