Speculative Phase:
When I think of a possible reason as to why the Babylonians used base 60 compared to base 10, I think of time. I'm not actually sure without research if the Babylonian era was aware of there being 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in 1 hour, but this would make the most logical sense as to their use of base 60 for the notational system.
I came to this conclusion because this is how we measure time around the world. Scientists have been able to measure and establish a time system that revolves around base 60. In my opinion, 60 is still a significant number in our current lives because of its correlation with time, and it is interesting to think about how the world would be if we adopted a similar notation system with base 60. After considering the Babylonian system, I am actually curious to why we adopted the current notational system with base 10?
Research Phase:
After doing a bit of research, it appears that the Babylonian numeration system using base 60 actually aroused through trade. It appears that the Babylonian numeration system is based off of the Sumerian system, which involved two different groups of people merging together. One group had a number system based on 5, and another based on 12. So when the two groups traded, they multiplied their systems to establish a more universal system based on 60.
I found this information through this article, which was a very interesting read!
link: https://www.thoughtco.com/why-we-still-use-babylonian-mathematics-116679
Something I found particularly interesting about the use of base 60 is its divisibility. 60 is a composite number that has 12 factors, so fractions are easier to understand because they are simplified. 60 is actually the smallest number that is divisible by every number from 1 to 6, as 1 hour can be divided into 30 mins, 20 mins, 15 mins, etc. Discussing this system and looking into the number 60 makes me think that this could be a useful alternative approach to teaching young kids about math. Since 60 is a significant number correlated with time, and time is such a relevant topic in our lives, I think it would be interesting to teach young students about the Babylonian techniques and tie that to lessons about division and fractions. It may be easier for kids to grasp, as well as still effective in teaching them fundamental lessons in math!
Interesting commentary! Do make sure that you question the origin of things like our base 60 notation of time. Did it predate the Babylonians -- or originate with them?
ReplyDeleteInteresting speculation about the origins of base 60 from the amalgamation of base 5 and base 20. Looking at the source though, I don't think that USA Today is necessarily a good source for math history (though many in the class quoted this nicely written piece!) I will follow up on this and see if it is a good account of the history... Thanks for a thoughtful post!