Counting by 10s vs. 20s

[Dan Goncharoff]

To me, the interesting question is why any move to a system based on 20
took place when the Romans did not use one. What caused the change?

DanG


On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 9:11 PM, W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Counting by 10s vs. 20s
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> JB: <<Did  European serfs of colder Northern Europe wear shoes,
> while the peasants of warmer Southern Europe went barefoot?>>
> WB:  And Honest Abe kept score on fingers & toes. Too simple an
> explanation. Must get social scientists to amass data, organized into
> volumes of biometrical tables verified by ANOVA. Only then will everyone
> forget what the question was and the problem goes away.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org