HackerTube.dev

Base 12 - Numberphile

Numberphile · 2.3M views · 2012-12-12 · 9:12

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Numberphile's James Grime makes the case for base 12 (dozenal) over base 10, showing how twelve's many divisors make arithmetic and everyday fractions easier.

On Hacker News

HN uses it as the accessible overview of the dozenal system whenever base 12 or the 12 times table comes up.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2013–2020

Topics

Recreational & visual math
Search by tags
dozenalduodecimalnumber basesnumberphilearithmetic

What people said

rezashirazian · 2016-01 · Recommendation

I came here for this. I am disappointed it is only the third response. I suggest anyone reading this to also watch this video [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
Tistron · 2020-05 · Reference

It's simple enough to Google "etymology eleven" to see that it is a base 10 word. Modern proponents of a dozenal system seem to prefer the words "el" and "doz" for eleven and twelve. I would totally be in for changing, but realistically it'll never happen. Numberphile on the dozenal system: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
snarfy · 2013-12 · Reference

This reminds me of the duodecimal system: [VIDEO] Mathematically, 10 is a pretty arbitrary choice to base your number system on. We would have been better off learning base 12 than inventing metric.

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Numberphile, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources