# Does base-10 seem natural only because we have ten fingers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-base-10-seem-natural-only-because-we-have-ten-fingers/614476 "2012-03-01T19:17:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-base-10-seem-natural-only-because-we-have-ten-fingers/614476/41 "2012-03-03T14:07:52Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > How do you get 12 by counting phalanges? I have five fingers and toes on each hand or foot. You are _using_ you thumb as the counter, _counting_ the three phalanges of each each of the four fingers on the one hand. It works well for counting items over an extended period of time because you can just keep the thumb in position and of course the other hand’s fingers extended, and not have to remember what number you were on when you’ve gotten distracted. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-base-10-seem-natural-only-because-we-have-ten-fingers/614476/42 "2012-03-13T13:17:05Z")
If our numbering system was based on our hands, wouldn’t it be base 11? Nobody counts 0-9 on their hands, they count from 1 to 10. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-base-10-seem-natural-only-because-we-have-ten-fingers/614476/43 "2012-03-13T14:20:59Z")
[QUOTE=ExcitedIdiot] If our numbering system was based on our hands, wouldn’t it be base 11? Nobody counts 0-9 on their hands, they count from 1 to 10. [/QUOTE] It’s probably not related to any counting mechanism that was used on actual human hands. Long before the decimal positional number system was introduced, people were grouping things into tens (or twenties, or sixties), and powers of ten — and so ten was a logical choice for the base of a positional system, when it was conceived. Plus, I can’t imagine base 11 ever becoming very popular. [Insert _Spinal Tap_ joke here.] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-base-10-seem-natural-only-because-we-have-ten-fingers/614476.md?page=2)