Why does a week have seven days?

To be honest - dunno. I would have to look at how it is taught in countries where it is taught. Reading Wiki it just says:

"Finger-counting systems in use in many regions of Asia allow the counting to 12 by using a single hand. The thumb acts as a pointer touching the three finger bones of each finger in turn, starting with the outermost bone of the little finger. One hand is used to count numbers up to 12. The other hand is used to display the number of completed base-12s. This continues until twelve dozen is reached, therefore 144 is counted."

But it says nothing about when people in Asia start using it. Are they taught as children? Or do children learn the 10 finger way we do and then _later_ in education learn this supplementary system?

Certainly keeping track of numbers that are not multiples of 3 - due to the pointing system using the thumb - is not difficult at all for an adult and I use the system myself all the time. But I can see why a very young child would have issues with it to "show" a number to someone else using fingers.

But I would have to see it taught to children before I write it off. Quite often when people decry something as not being easy for a toddler to grasp - they are under estimating the amazing mental plasticity and abilities toddlers _do_ have to grasp things. Quite often it is not as difficult as we expect - and it is just a failure of imagination as to how we might present it.

I can certainly say that I have _no idea_ what is going on here

Mr. FoggPatches

I can count to 7 on one foot.

TallGlass

TallGlass wrote: »

Why isn't time and date metric !

They tried it after the French revolution (decimal time) but it never really caught on and was abandoned by Napoleon after about 10 years.

aunty kitty

if the toaster will stay down when plugged in, but won't when not, is it using power all the time it's plugged in?

aunty kitty

aunty kitty wrote: »

if the toaster will stay down when plugged in, but won't when not, is it using power all the time it's plugged in?

no, pressing it down activates a powered latch that holds it down.
The latch is not powered until you press it down.

twowheelsonly

Deleted User wrote: »

To be honest - dunno. I would have to look at how it is taught in countries where it is taught. Reading Wiki it just says:

"Finger-counting systems in use in many regions of Asia allow the counting to 12 by using a single hand. The thumb acts as a pointer touching the three finger bones of each finger in turn, starting with the outermost bone of the little finger. One hand is used to count numbers up to 12. The other hand is used to display the number of completed base-12s. This continues until twelve dozen is reached, therefore 144 is counted."

But it says nothing about when people in Asia start using it. Are they taught as children? Or do children learn the 10 finger way we do and then _later_ in education learn this supplementary system?

Certainly keeping track of numbers that are not multiples of 3 - due to the pointing system using the thumb - is not difficult at all for an adult and I use the system myself all the time. But I can see why a very young child would have issues with it to "show" a number to someone else using fingers.

But I would have to see it taught to children before I write it off. Quite often when people decry something as not being easy for a toddler to grasp - they are under estimating the amazing mental plasticity and abilities toddlers _do_ have to grasp things. Quite often it is not as difficult as we expect - and it is just a failure of imagination as to how we might present it.

I can certainly say that I have _no idea_ what is going on here

This is what you're thinking of.

There's various tutorial videos on Youtube of it as well. I've seen it done in person and it's maaaaaad !!! Makes a lot of sense though.

Capt'n Midnight

ThisRegard wrote: »

If you paid attention in school you'd know.

http://i.imgur.com/ofvEI2D.jpg

Capt'n Midnight

osarusan wrote: »

It didn't always. The Babylonians started a cycle of 4 weeks on new moons and had holy days on every 7th day, but needed a 4th week of 8 or 9 days to get back to a new moon again.

Bring back that system

\o/ loads of long weekends

Capt'n Midnight

biko wrote: »

What happens to matter that is sucked into a black hole?

spaghettification

Capt'n Midnight

mariaalice wrote: »

Do they cut and burn turf for domestic fuel in any other country other that Ireland, is it cold going around in shorts in the winter. I have hundreds of trivial questions that I wonder about, that google can't answer.

TG4 docu on the Falkland Islands on there, and yes they cut turf.