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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
CPallini10-Jan-22 3:31
mveCPallini10-Jan-22 3:31 
GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
David O'Neil10-Jan-22 6:05
professionalDavid O'Neil10-Jan-22 6:05 
QuestionRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
Eddy Vluggen10-Jan-22 6:50
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AnswerRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
David O'Neil10-Jan-22 7:36
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
Eddy Vluggen10-Jan-22 8:42
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
David O'Neil10-Jan-22 8:51
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
Randor 10-Jan-22 9:48
professional Randor 10-Jan-22 9:48 
GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
David O'Neil10-Jan-22 10:35
professionalDavid O'Neil10-Jan-22 10:35 
There are several items supporting the fact that the sexagesimal system originated from astronomic observations of Jupiter and Saturn. One of them is the fact that back then, their language was syllabic (sp?), where each syllable represented a distinct concept (Sumerian Lexicon). Their word for 'sixty' was geš. The word for Saturn was 'gena', which incorporated the same 'ge'. 'gena' also meant 'constant, regular', reflecting the regularity/constancy of the celestial pattern by its use in geš, as well as the regularity of Saturn's own orbit. The greatest clue that '60' was linked to the sky is that it was known as the number for Anu, their sky god. Also, they counted out '60' in three 'twenties,' mirroring Jupiter and Saturn's twenty/sixty year pattern. And according to an Assyriologist who studied it,
Quote:
…[In Sumeria] the unit of 60 has been incorporated in a system of numeration which was still in the process of formation, which had already the unit of 10, but had not yet, had never had the unit of 100. The new unit seems to have found its entrance into usage prior to the rise of the academic speculation, which intervened later, not in order to change the base, but in order to coordinate the system. - Henry Thureau-Dangin, Sketch of a History of the Sexagesimal System
So those who think it came into existence because of the handiness of the 5/12 base systems are very wrong, although it make a nice story.

Here's a quote from my book giving more insight:
Quote:
The French Assyriologist and Sumerologist F. Thureau-Dangin wrote about clay tablets using this system discovered in layer IV of the Uruk ruins in ancient Sumeria, dating them from 3300 to 3100 BC. The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative says the most prominent area in Uruk at that time was a precinct called the “House of Heaven.” In other words, the priests watching the sky were the active investigators of those times.
In short, they found this number by watching the sky, and its usefulness became apparent upon using it, not from intellectual thoughts. I'm certain they first started using it simply because their 'gods' revealed the number to them, so they had to use it if that makes sense. They did not take the worship of their gods lightly back then. I hope this answers your question.


modified 10-Jan-22 17:05pm.

GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
Randor 10-Jan-22 11:48
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
David O'Neil10-Jan-22 13:04
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
David O'Neil11-Jan-22 11:28
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
Randor 11-Jan-22 22:56
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
David O'Neil12-Jan-22 3:29
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
dandy7211-Jan-22 4:46
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
dandy7211-Jan-22 4:56
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GeneralRe: How do you celebrate completions? Pin
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