SHOULD WE SWITCH FROM DECIMAL TO DOZENAL?

alistair o neill

A cost benet analysis of changing base April 2013 version 1.1

A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers. Plato

ABSTRACT

When representing magnitudes, numbers are currently represented using positional decimal notation. That is to say, using base ten. This dissertation explores why this is the case and what other options are available, before assessing the impact which changing the de jure base would have and whether or not society would be likely to adopt such a change. This is evaluated by using the transition to metric from imperial as an analogue of the way in which decimal to dozenal would proceed.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you very much to Mr Price and Mr Budds who have supported me in my research for the Extended Project.

iv

CONTENTS

1 1

alternatives 1 the possibilities 2 1.1 Binary 2 1.2 Octal 2 1.3 Decimal 3 1.4 Dozenal 3 1.5 Hexadecimal 4 2 number of digits 5 2.1 Number of Different Digits 5 2.1.1 Binary 5 2.1.2 Octal 5 2.1.3 Decimal 5 2.1.4 Dozenal 5 2.1.5 Hexadecimal 6 2.1.6 Sexagesimal 6 2.1.7 Conclusion 6 2.2 Number of Digits to Represent a Quantity 2.2.1 Days in a Year 7 2.2.2 Minutes in a Year 8 2.3 Standard Form 8 3 testing for divisibility 10 3.1 Divisibility Tests in Decimals 10 3.1.1 Dividing By One 10 3.1.2 Dividing By Two 10 3.1.3 Dividing By Three 11 3.1.4 Dividing By Four 11 3.1.5 Dividing By Five 12 3.1.6 Dividing by Six 12 3.1.7 Dividing By Seven 12 3.1.8 Divisibility By Eight 13 3.1.9 Divisibility By Nine 13 3.1.X Divisibility By Ten 13 3.1.E Divisibility By Eleven 14 3.2 Generalised Base 14 3.2.1 Last Digits 14 3.2.2 Summation of Digits 16 3.2.3 Alternating Summation 16 3.2.4 Composites 17

contents

vi

3.3 Conclusion 17 4 elementary arithmetic 19 4.1 Addition 19 4.2 Subtraction 20 4.3 Multiplication 20 5 fractions 23 5.1 Denitions 23 5.2 Proving Recurring Decimals Are Rational 5.3 Conditions For Termination 25 6 mathematical conclusion 28 6.1 Weighing Up Pros and Cons 28 2 7 practicalities 30 infrastructure 31 7.1 Cost 31 7.2 Double Standards 31 7.3 Information Technology 31 7.4 Education 32 7.4.1 Children 33 7.4.2 Adults 33 8 parallels to metrification 34 8.1 Compatibility 35 8.1.1 Bridge Heights 35 8.1.2 Gimli Glider and NASA 35 8.2 Legislation 36 8.3 Conclusion 36 3 9 overall conclusion conclusion 38 37

24

4 appendix 39 a research review 40 a.1 The Heritage Of Thales 40 a.2 The Art Of Computer Programming - Volume One 40 a.3 www.dozenalsociety.org.uk and www.dozenal.org a.4 Conicts in the Learning of Real Numbers and Limits 41 a.5 Code Quality: The Open Source Perspective 41 a.6 www.mail-archive.com 42 a.7 www.information-management.com 42 a.8 USMA 42 a.9 www.dft.gov.uk 43

41

contents

vii

activity log 44 b.1 Before October 2012 - Research 44 b.1.1 July 2012 44 b.1.2 August 2012 44 b.1.3 September 2012 44 b.2 Writing the Dissertation 45 b.2.1 October 2012 45 b.2.2 November 2012 45 b.2.3 December 2012 45 b.2.4 January 2013 46 b.2.5 February 2013 46 b.2.6 March 2013 46 c analysis of the epq process 47 d glossary 48 d.1 Notation 48 d.1.1 Summation 48 d.1.2 Logarithms 48 d.1.3 Ceiling 48 d.1.4 Floor 49 d.1.5 Product 49 d.1.6 Set Notation 49 d.1.7 Other 49 d.2 Terminology 50 d.2.1 Factor 50 d.2.2 Prime 50 d.2.3 Q.E.D. 50 d.2.4 Numerator 50 d.2.5 Denominator 50 d.2.6 Sets 50 d.2.7 Modular Arithmetic 50

INTRODUCTION

Before progressing into a mathematical discussion of the benets and drawbacks of alternative notation for numbers, it is important to be clear what is meant by decimal notation. It refers to base-ten positional notation. That is to say, the position of the symbols matter, with each position being worth ten times that of the place to its right. This is best illustrated with an example. If we take the number 111, then the rst 1 is worth 100, while the second 1 is worth ten, and the nal 1 is worth just one. Hence, we can break up 111 as thus: 111 = 100 + 10 + 1 Similarly, we can break up a less trivial number. 862 = 800 + 60 + 2 = 8 100 + 6 10 + 2 (0.0.2) (0.0.1)

Within this dissertation, a subscript following a number shall denote the positional base it is written in. Therefore, the above 862 would be written as 862dec . Algebraic symbols followed by subscripts act as normal mathematical arrays. Furthermore, symbols written next to each other within quotation marks represent a number written out with the value of each of those symbols representing a digit. For example: x = 8, y = 6, z = 2 "xyz"dec = 862dec (0.0.3) (0.0.4)

Given our denition of the base-ten positional notation system, it obviously follows that, for an n + 1 digit integer
n

"an an1 ...a1 a0 "dec =

i=0

10i dec ai

(0.0.5)

Sigma notation, is used in summing series. Refer to the glossary for more information.

for n Z, n 0 and 0 ai 9. In fact, (5) is a good denition for what is meant by the decimally notated integers. Unfortunately, not all numbers are integers. The non-whole portion of the number is placed to the right of a decimal mark (usually a period "." in the United Kingdom and United States

viii

introduction

ix

of America, sometimes a comma "," elsewhere) such that the integer part of the number is separated from the fractional part. Similarly to when dealing solely with integers, to the right of the mark, a digit is worth ten times what it would be if it were in the position to its right. Or conversely, the position is ten times smaller in magnitude than that on its left. So: 0.531 = 3 1 5 + + 10 100 1000 (0.0.6)

This is an example of a terminating decimal. That is to say, a quantity which, after a nite number of decimal places, becomes only a string of "0"s. Considering a terminating decimal to m decimal places then it is obvious that:
n

"an an1 ...a1 a0 .a1 a2 ...a1m am "dec =

i=m

10i dec ai (0.0.7)

for n Z, n 0 and 0 ai 9. To extend this to the nonterminating decimals, one need only set m = . With the mathematical denition of decimal notation complete, the structure of this dissertation is as follows. Within section one, there is a discussion of the features of various bases, with a conclusion describing the theoretically optimal base. In section two, the practicalities of switching are discussed.

Part 1 A LT E R N AT I V E S
In this part, the features of a generalised base are discussed and followed by an analysis to investigate which base is optimal in each instance. Unless specied otherwise, the use of x represents
n

"an an1 ...a1 a0 .a1 a2 ...a1m am "b =

i=m

b i ai (0.0.8)

whilst z represents
n

"an an1 ...a1 a0 "b =

i=0

b i ai

(0.0.9)

where b is the base in which the number was written. These stem from the fact that each digit is worth a factor of b more than that to its right, and is the denition of positional base system.

THE POSSIBILITIES

Whilst there exist an extensive variety of numeral systems, this dissertation will focus on the following: Binary Octal Decimal Dozenal Hexadecimal Whilst other bases are mentioned, there will not be extended discussion of them, aside from mentioning why they are being disregarded as a practical alternative. This chapter gives a brief introduction to the above systems. 1.1 binary

Dating as far back to ancient India1 binary is a positional notational system with a radix of two. Hence, 1001bin = (1 23 + 0 22 + 0 21 + 1 20 )dec (1.1.1) = (8 + 1)dec = 9dec (1.1.2) (1.1.3)

It is most commonly used today in computing as a specic transistor can be on (1) or off (0). This means that binary makes sense for the use of logic gates as each digit only has those two possible outcomes. Hence, a single digit of binary represents one bit of data. 1.2 octal

Octal is, as the name suggests, the use of base eight. This base is rarely used today as its initial applications have been superceded by hexadecimal. In an unpublished paper from 1718
1 The Heritage Of Thales, W S Anglin and Joachim Lambek, 978-0387945446

1.3 decimal

Emanuel Swedenborg explained an octal system at the request of Charles XII2 . This didnt gain any traction however. Base eight became useful when IBM mainframes used processors which had 12, 24 or 36 bit words. As these are all multiples of three, and 8 = 23 , a 12-bit word, which would require twelve binary digits, would require only 4 octal digits, with conversion being as simple as grouping each set of three binary digits together.
n

A word is the unit of data which the processor deals with

zbin =
i=0
n 3

2 i ai
2

(1.2.1)

=
i=0

(8i
j=0

2j a3i+j )

(1.2.2)

Hence, conversions from binary to octal are as simple as looking at three digits at a time. 101001011101bin = 5135oct (1.2.3) Interestingly, the Navi, in James Camerons Avatar, use octal, owing to the fact that they have eight ngers. In real life, the Yuki and Pamean languages use base eight, where the spaces in between ngers are counted, rather than the ngers themselves. 1.3 decimal

Almost all modern societies currently use the decimal, or base ten, positional numeral system. The main reason for this is because humans have ten ngers and, hence, it is easy to teach children basic arithmetic by getting them to count up on their ngers and move onto the next digit when they run out. Beyond this, there is very little practical situation where base ten is naturally benecial. Its use as the fundamental block of the metric system is articially man made, as is that of our currency. 1.4 dozenal

The dozenal system is another positional numeral system. It has a radix of twelve. It is not an unheard of base in different cultures; some Nigerian languages, Gwandara, Chepang and Mahl are examples of where it is used. However, there are many places where the number twelve is used as a fundamental value. For example, there are twelve inches in a foot; twelve ounces in
2 The Art Of Computer Programming, Donald Knuth, 0-201-89683-4

A troy pound is used to weigh precious metals and gemstones

1.5 hexadecimal

a troy pound; twelve pence in a shilling; and twelve months in a year. The reasons why it would make such a good base are enumerated later in this dissertation. In terms of counting, one can still use their hand, in that they have twelve phalanges in their ngers. Hence, they can use their thumb to point to each phalanx in turn, while counting. 1.5 hexadecimal
Hexadecimal is often referred to as just "hex"

Hexadecimal, is, as the name suggests, a positional numeral system in base sixteen. It is most commonly used in reference to computing as 16dec = 24 meaning that it can be used as a more condensed way of writing numbers for a computer. As the standard word length for processors is now 32-bit or 64bit, these are represented by eight digit or sixteen digit hex values respectively. Also, the byte as a unit of storage is eight bits, which means that it can be represented by two digits in hexadecimal. The conversion process is just as simple as that of octal; however one has to look at groups of four binary digits rather than just three.
n

zbin =
i=0
n 4

2 i ai
3

(1.5.1)

=
i=0

(16i
j=0

2j a4i+j )

(1.5.2)

Values which correspond to maximum of certain length hex values appear very commonly in computing and gaming. For example, in many games, the maximum of a stat you can attain is 255dec = FFhex which is the maximum value a single byte of data can take. Hexadecimal is often used in colours where a colour is represented by the amount of red, green and blue light required to make it. Each two digits of the code represents the value for each primary colour ranging from 00 to FF. For example #FFFFFF is white as all primary colours are maximised.

NUMBER OF DIGITS

2.1

number of different digits

If a number is written in base b, then it means that 10b = b a digit "X" such that X = b 1. Therefore, as we are including 0, there must be b different digits allowed within base b. This doesnt normally create any problems until a sufciently large base is suggested that there are so many symbols required that they become difcult to remember. Generally bases use the same ten digits of decimal and then have new symbols for digits representing values 10dec . 2.1.1 Binary

Under binary, there are only two digits: 0 and 1. 2.1.2 Octal

Under octal, there are eight digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. 2.1.3 Decimal

The ten digits of decimal are: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. 2.1.4 Dozenal

Under Dozenal there are twelve different digits. The rst ten are the same as those under decimal. There is a new digit which represents the value "ten" and is written as either A, T , X or X. There is also a digit representing "eleven" which is written as B, E or E. These different conventions are used by different groups, with the Dozenal Society of Great Britain preferring the X and E symbols introduced by Sir Isaac Pitman1 . These are the ones which will be used in this dissertation and are, when read out loud, pronounced "dek" and "ell" respectively.
1 http://www.dozenalsociety.org.uk/pdfs/AboutUs.pdf

2.1 number of different digits

2.1.5

Hexadecimal

Under hexadecimal, there are sixteen digits and these are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E and F. 2.1.6 Sexagesimal

The Ancient Sumerians and Babylonians used a base sixty numeral system. Therefore they required 60 different symbols for the possible different digits. They are shown below

This isnt a pure base, however, as the digits are not distinct because each "digit" uses a small base ten tally system itself. If there were to be sixty entirely unique symbols for the digits, then it would be very difcult to learn indeed.

2.1.7

Conclusion

Adding new digits to simple electronic displays is an issue for a base larger than ten. This is one of the reasons that octal was preferred over hex during early computer development. Programmers didnt need to have a specialised display which allowed letters. Indeed, installing the characters for X and E proved tricky enough within the writing of this dissertation AT X. However, as technology is despite the versatile nature of L E programmed by humans, for humans, if there became widespread desire for a specic base, then the necessary symbols would soon become standard with all fonts.

2.2 number of digits to represent a quantity

2.2

number of digits to represent a quantity

It is useful to consider how long a number will be when written down. It stands to reason that a smaller base, will result in more digits being required to represent a quantity. This is because, an n + 1 digit number is at most bn+1 1 as shown below.
n

zmaxb =
i=0 n

b i (b 1) (bi+1 bi )
i=0 n+1 n

(2.2.1) (2.2.2)

Note that the largest value ai can take is (b-1)

= = b = b Similarly, z is at least bn as
n

bi
i=1 n+1 n+1

bi
i=0 0

(2.2.3) (2.2.4) (2.2.5)

an 1 by denition and ai 0

b 1

zminb =
i=0 n

bi ai
n1

(2.2.6) (bi 0)
i=0

= b 1+ = bn Therefore, these combine to give us: bn b n zb

n

(2.2.7) (2.2.8)

bn+1 1 zb < b
n+1

(2.2.9) (2.2.10) (2.2.11)

logb zb < n + 1

Log is an increasing function so we dont need to worry about the direction of the signs

n = logb zb (2.2.12) ln zb (2.2.13) n= ln b ln zb n+1 = (2.2.14) ln b So we can see that the number of digits required to represent a quantity scales in proportion to the natural logarithm of its magnitude as ln b is a constant for a given base. Let us consider the number of digits required to represent common numbers. 2.2.1 Days in a Year 101101101bin = 555oct = 365dec = 265doz = 16Dhex (2.2.15)

ln is the natural logarithm of a number

The true value is approximately 365.25, but an integer is easier to deal with at this stage

2.3 standard form

So there are nine digits in binary, and three for the other bases. 2.2.2 Minutes in a Year
This time days in a year is taken as 365.25

10000000011010001000bin = 2003210oct = 525960dec = 214460doz = 80688hex

(2.2.16) (2.2.17) (2.2.18) (2.2.19) (2.2.20)

Here there are twenty digits in the binary representation, seven in the octal, six in the decimal and dozenal and ve in the hexadecimal. Clearly, when we extend this to even larger numbers, the difference in the number of digits change dramatically according to the proportionality proven earlier. Numbers which are merely seven digits long in decimal look exceedingly complicated in binary. Because there are only two different digits, it becomes difcult to read through the entire number without losing your place. Supplementation with commas could improve the readability, but would make the written number even longer on the page. For this reason, binary is not practical for everyday use by humans. 2 .3 standard form

Usually, when writing down numbers which are either large or small and are not needed to be perfectly exact, standard form is used. That is to say written of the form b where N and 1 <b (2.3.1)

Here, is the order of magnitude and is used to get a rough estimate of the size of the number. If the number were written out fully, it would mean that the number had + 1 digits. is usually written to three signicant gures and allows numbers of similar magnitude to be compared. If it is written to three signicant gures then there are b3 b2 = b2 (b 1) possible

Going from 1.00 up to "(b-1).(b-1)(b-1)"

2.3 standard form

values of . Obviously the fewer possible values there are, the more difcult it is to compare values. In this instance, the larger the base, the better.

TESTING FOR DIVISIBILITY

It is often helpful to be able to look at a number and immediately decide whether or not it will be divided exactly by a specied number. This is where divisibility rules come in. Many people are familiar with the rules for testing whether or not a number is divisible by a specic divisor in base ten. It is important to note that such rules are not solely restricted to using base ten, and there are similar rules for other bases. Before starting to generalise, it is helpful to look at the rules as they currently exist so as to ascertain understand why they work. It is important to note that a d|z, that is to say d divides z iff k Z : z = kd. Also, z = kd z 0 (mod d) (3.0.2)

"iff" means if and only if. It is used when implication runs in both directions "mod" refers to modular arithmetic. It is effectively the remainder which is left after dividing the number by

3.1 3.1.1

divisibility tests in decimals Dividing By One

All integers can be divided by one, as doing so does not change the value, hence remains an integer. 3.1.2 Dividing By Two

A number is divisible by two iff it is even (by denition). Using decimal notation, a number is even iff it ends in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8. By exhaustion, these are all of the single digit even numbers. So what the rule is really saying is that the last digit of a number is even iff the entire number is. By the contrapositive, it is the same saying that the parity of a number is the same as the parity of its nal digit. This is proven as follows:

is equivalent to "Q.E.D" and means that a proof is complete

10

3.1 divisibility tests in decimals

n

11

z =
i=0

10i dec ai
n

(3.1.1) (3.1.2) (3.1.3) (3.1.4)

= a0 +
i=1

10i dec ai
n 1 5 10i dec ai i=1

= a0 + 2 a0 3.1.3 Dividing By Three

(mod 2)

A decimal number is divisible by three iff the sum of its digits is divisible by three. This can be proven if a number, modulo three, is congruent to the sum of its digits, as being 0 (mod 3) is merely a special case of this.
n

z =
i=0 n

10i dec ai ( 3 3 + 1 ) i ai
i=0 n

(3.1.5) (3.1.6) (3.1.7) (3.1.8)

Consider the binomial expansion. Only the nal 1 term will not have a factor of 3

=
i=0 n

1i ai ai
i=0

(mod 3) (mod 3)

3.1.4

Dividing By Four

A decimal number is divisible by four iff its nal two digits are divisible by four. Similar to the two situation, this is because the number (mod 4) is equivalent to the number formed from its last two digits.
n

z =
i=0

10i dec ai
n

(3.1.9) 10i dec ai

i=2 n 2 10i dec ai i=2

= 10 a1 + a0 +

(3.1.10) (3.1.11) (3.1.12)

= 10 a1 + a0 + 4 25 10 a1 + a0 (mod 4)

3.1 divisibility tests in decimals

12

3.1.5

Dividing By Five

A decimal number is divisible by ve iff its nal digit is a 0 or 5. Similarly to two, this is implied by the nal digit being equivalent to the entire number (mod 5).
n

z =
i=0

10i dec ai
n

(3.1.13) (3.1.14)
1 10i dec ai i=0

= a0 +
i=1

10i dec ai
n

= a0 + 5 2 a0 3.1.6 Dividing by Six (mod 5)

(3.1.15) (3.1.16)

Any number is divisible by six iff it is divisible by two and by three. It is obvious that if a number is divisible by six, it must be divisible by three and two as 6 = 3 2. As 2 and 3 are coprime, it is also true that the reverse implication exists, that is to say, being divisible by 2 and 3 is sufcient to prove that it is divisible by 6. z = 2 k1 = 3 k2 By Euclids lemma, either 3|2 or 3|k1 . Hence, k1 = 3 k3 z = 2 3 k3 = 6 k3 3.1.7 Dividing By Seven (3.1.18) (3.1.19) (3.1.17)

Numbers are co-prime iff their highest common factor is one.

Euclids lemma states that n|ab and n a n|b is used in this dissertation to show that a contradiction has been reached.

Whilst there exist some tests for testing divisibility by seven, none of them are particularly more efcient than simply attempting the long division sum and seeing if it results in an integer answer. Those which can be done mentally are recursive and only shave off one digit at a time.

3.1 divisibility tests in decimals

13

3.1.8

Divisibility By Eight

A number is divisible by eight iff 8|4a2 + 2a1 + a0 . This is because:

n

z =
i=0

10i dec ai
n

(3.1.20)
3 10i dec ai (3.1.21) i=3

= 100a2 + 10a1 + a0 + 8 125 96a2 + 4a2 + 8a1 + 2a1 + a0 4a2 + 2a1 + a1 3.1.9 Divisibility By Nine (mod 8)

(mod 8)

(3.1.22) (3.1.23)

A number is divisible by nine iff the sum of its digits is divisible by nine. This is proven similarly to the rule for divisibility by three.
n

z =
i=0 n

10i dec ai ( 9 + 1 ) i ai
i=0 n

(3.1.24) (3.1.25) (3.1.26) (3.1.27)

=
i=0 n

1 i ai ai
i=0

(mod 9) (mod 9)

3.1.

Divisibility By Ten

A number is divisible by ten iff it ends in 0. Again, like most of the others, this can be implied by proving that a decimal number is equivalent to its nal digit modulo 10.
n

z =
i=0

10i dec ai
n 1 10i dec ai i=1

(3.1.28) (3.1.29) (3.1.30)

= a0 + 10 a0

(mod 10)

3.2 generalised base

14

3.1.

Divisibility By Eleven

This divisibility rule is in the same vein as that of three and nine, however this time one alternates adding and subtracting digits. The result is the equivalent to the original number modulo eleven provided the nal digit is added. It is useful to note that, under the specic case that 11|z, it does not matter whether we start with addition or subtraction as 0 = 0.
n

z =
i=0 n

10i dec ai (11 1)i ai

i=0 n

(3.1.31) (3.1.32) (3.1.33)

Again, only the nal term of the binomial expansion does not contain 11

=
i=0

(1)i ai

(mod 11)

3 .2

generalised base

In the above examples, there are four different methods used to tackle nding a rule to test for divisibility. 3.2.1 Last Digits

The rst method involves looking at the last few digits of a number. The divisors this works for are 2, 4, 5, 8 and 10. The one shared feature they have is that they all have only prime factors which are in 10. That is to say, they are of the form d = 2 5 (3.2.1)

It isnt too tricky to generalise a proof of a divisibility rule in base b where

m

b=
j=1

pj j

(3.2.2)

where m is the number of distinct prime factors it has and j is the power to which each prime factor is raised. Let the divisor be dened as
m

d=
j=1

pj j

(3.2.3)

3.2 generalised base

15

Where all of the pj s are the same as those of b. Also, let j (3.2.4) = max( ) j We get the following
n

max will return the largest value of the given set Note that ij j 0 by our denition of

z=
i=0 n

b i ai
m

(3.2.5) pj j )i )

=
i=0 n

(ai (
j=1 m

(3.2.6)

=
i=0 1

(ai
j=1 m

pj j )
i pj j ) + n m

(3.2.7)
i

=
i=0 1

(ai
j=1 m

(ai
i= j=1 pj j ) m j=0

pj j )
n m ij j

(3.2.8)

=
i=0 1

(ai
j=1 m

i pj j ) + (

(ai
i= j=1

pj

(3.2.9)

i=0 1

(ai
j=1

pj j )

(mod d)

(3.2.10)

i=0

ai bi

(mod d)

(3.2.11) (3.2.12)

"a1 a2 ...a1 a0 " (mod d)

Which means we need only look at the last digits of the number to see if it divisible by d in base b. For example, to check if a number is divisible by 9 under dozenal then, b = 22 3 and d = 32 . j max( ) = max(0, 2) = 2 (3.2.13) j Hence, one only need look at the last two digits and test if they are divisible by 9. As a check, to test if 9|183E02X6doz we need only look at the last two digits.
X6doz = 9 12doz

(3.2.14)

(3.2.15)

So, this means that our original number is also divisible by nine. Indeed it is true that 183E02X6doz = 9 231283Xdoz (3.2.16)

3.2 generalised base

16

3.2.2

Summation of Digits

The second method looks at what happens when the digits of the number are added. The divisors which this works for are three and nine. These works because 10dec = (32 + 1) (3.2.17)

Again, it is simple to provide a generalisation and say that if b = d + 1 then providing the sum of digits is divisible by d then so is the number itself.
n

z =
i=0 n

b i ai ( d + 1 ) i ai
i=0 n

(3.2.18) (3.2.19) (3.2.20) (3.2.21)

=
i=0 n

1 i ai ai
i=0

(mod d) (mod d)

As an example, to test if a hexadecimal number is divisible by Fhex = 15dec then, as b = F + 1, the sum of the digits will be divisible by fteen if the original number is. So, to check: 41AE42Ahex 4 + 1 + A + E + 4 + 2 + A = 2Dhex F (3.2.22) As F|F, then 41AE42Ahex is also divisible by F. 41AE42Ahex = F 460F36hex 3.2.3 Alternating Summation (3.2.23)

In the decimal divisibility rule for eleven, one has to alternately add or subtract the digits. This result can be generalised to any d = b + 1 as follows
n

z =
i=0 n

bi ai ( d 1 ) i ai
i=0 n

(3.2.24) (3.2.25) (3.2.26)

=
i=0

(1)i ai

(mod d)

3.3 conclusion

17

As mentioned previously, if one is only interested in whether or not the number is divisible by d, then z modulo d will be zero. Hence, it does not matter whether or not the rst term is added or subtracted as multiplying the entire summation by 1 makes no difference. 3.2.4 Composites

As touched upon in the description for testing decimal divisibility by six, by using Euclids lemma, it is possible to come up with necessary and sufcient conditions for a divisibility rule for composites, providing there exists divisibility rules for its constituent powers of primes. Let
m

d=
j=1 m

pj j pj j
j=1

(3.2.27)

d|z z = k0

(3.2.28)

By factorising out each pj j in turn, it is trivial to show that the forward implication is true. The reverse implication is slightly trickier. If we can show that pj j |z0 < j < m, then the following is true.
2 1 z = k1 p 1 = k2 p2 = ... 2 2 |k1 as p By Euclids lemma, p2 2 factorisation. Hence 3 1 2 z = k 2 ,1 p 1 p2 = k3 p3 = ...

(3.2.29)
1 p 1 due to unique prime

UPF is proven in the Fundemental Theorem of Alegbra

(3.2.30)

3 By the same logic, it is seen that p 3 |k2,1 and by induction

z = k0
j=1

pj j

(3.2.31)

So it has been shown that to test for divisibility of a composite number, one merely needs to test for the divisibility of the highest power of its component primes. 3.3 conclusion

There exists a large number of fundamental tests which can be applied to numbers of all bases in order to ascertain if they

3.3 conclusion

18

are divisible by certain numbers. It is not a feature of the decimal system specically. Indeed, by looking at the conditions for these divisibility tests, it can be shown that there exist a higher proportion of divisibility tests in dozenal that rely on the simpler methods.

E L E M E N TA R Y A R I T H M E T I C

People are very comfortable with elementary arithmetic in the decimal system and dont generally like change. In this chapter, it is proven that switching base does not materially change any of the processes involved. 4.1 addition

If two numbers are required to be added in decimal, then they are written out with their digits aligned as in this example such that the user is adding digits in the same column, i.e. are multiplied by the same power of b

This works in general because

n n

x1 + x2 =
i=m n

b a1 , i +
i=m

b i a2 , i

(4.1.1) (4.1.2)

Reader knowledge of the addition algorithm is assumed

=
i=m

bi (a1,i + a2,i )

If a1,i + a2,i = a3,i b then a3,i = b+ a single digit value. Hence, by factoring the b with the digit to its left, the carrying over is accounted for. Therefore, it has just been shown that the exact same algorithm for adding works in general for all bases. Take the following example, in dozenal: 624 3 E8 + X20

19

4.2 subtraction

20

4.2

subtraction

The process for subtraction works in exactly the same method, by factorising out the powers of b.

x1 x2 =
i=m n

b a1 , i
i=m

b i a2 , i

(4.2.1) (4.2.2)

=
i=m

bi (a1,i a2,i )

If a1,i a2,i < 0 then we "borrow" one from the bi+1 term as bi+1 = b bi . So, once again, it has been shown that the exact same method of subtraction works in a generalised base, b, as works in decimal. Again, an example, in dozenal: 624 3 E8 228 4.3 multiplication

This is where things start to get more interesting as the algorithm becomes more complicated. The way the algorithm works is by multiplying the top number by each of the bottom digits in turn and adding a further 0 to the right hand column with each subsequent row. The user then adds up these values as this decimal example illustrates:

4.3 multiplication

21

This works as
n n

z 1 z2 =
i=0 n

bi a1,i
j=0 n

bj a2,j bj a2,j )
j=0

(4.3.1)

=
i=0 n

(bi a1,i
n

(4.3.2)

(
i=0 j=0

bj+i a1,i a2,j )

(4.3.3)

which is just the sum of each of the multiplicative results when the top number is multiplied by each digit of the second number and adjusted by multiplying by b. An example, in dozenal: 000624 0003E8 004168 058180 167000+ 207328 This does, however, raise an interesting point. It is required for the user of this algorithm to be comfortable in multiplying any two single digit values together and returning their product near instantly for this to be efcient. That is to say, they are required to know their times-table off by heart. Assuming that multiplying by both zero and one are discounted as being trivial, there are (b 2) elements to choose from. Using combinatorics, the total number of results is the total number of ways of taking two distinct elements from (b 2), where order doesnt matter, add on the number of possible square pairings
Remember that multiplication is commutitive

4.3 multiplication

22

as the "choose" function doesnt take this into account. Therefore there are (b 2)(b 3) (b 2) + ( b 2) + ( b 2) = 2 2 (b2 5b + 6 + 2b 4 = 2 2 (b 3b + 2 = 2 (b 1)(b 2) = 2 (b 1) = 2 (4.3.4) (4.3.5) (4.3.6) (4.3.7) (4.3.8)

is the number of ways of choosing objects from

results to memorise. As this function is quadratic in b, it will start to increase substantially as b increases. Under decimal, there are 36 results to memorise whilst under dozenal, there are 55. Extended to hexadecimal, then there are suddenly 105 results to learn. To take it a step further, the Babylonians would have had to have known 1711 different results. Given that a pupil is expected to have learnt their times-table by the end of Key Stage 2, clearly having a base which is unnecessarily large is not helpful.

FRACTIONS

5
I am using "decimal places" to mean digits to the right of the separator, regardless of the base

As mentioned in the introduction, not all numbers are integers. There are those which have a fractional part represented by digits to the right of a period or dot. There are different types on non integers: a. Terminating decimals are those which run on for a nite number of decimal places and then every subsequent digit is zero. For example, 4.312 b. Recurring decimals are those which have a non-zero digit or set of digits which repeat over and over forever. For example, 6.13333333... c. Irrational numbers are those which have innite decimal places but do have any repeating pattern. An example is 2 d. Transcendental numbers are those which have innite decimal places, do not have a repeating pattern, and are not the solutions to a polynomial equation with integer coefcients. An example is as proven by the Lindemann Weierstrass theorem. 5.1 definitions

Proving that a number is trancendental is still a tricky process

Given a terminating non-integer can be written

n

x=
i=m

b i ai

(5.1.1)

and dening the recurring sequence as

"r r1 ...r0 " =

j=0

bj rj

(5.1.2)

It is clear that a recurring non-integer can be written

n

x=
i=m

b ai +
k=1 j=0

bmk(1)+j rj

(5.1.3)

23

5.2 proving recurring decimals are rational

24

Whereas an irrational number would be written as

n

x=
i=

bi ai

(5.1.4)

5.2

proving recurring decimals are rational

Rational numbers can be written as where , Z

This dissertation will only focus on rational numbers because of the following property:
n

x=
i=m n

bi ai +
k=1 j=0

bmk(+1)+j rj bmk(+1)+j rj )

b+1 x = b+1 (
i=m n

b i ai +

b+1 x =
i=m n

bi++1 ai + bi++1 ai +
i=m n

k=1 j=0 m(k1)(+1)+j

rj

k=1 j=0

b+1 x =
+1

bm(k)(+1)+j rj
k=0 j=0 n

xx =
i=m

i++1

ai
i=m

b i ai +

bm(k)(+1)+j rj
k=0 j=0 n k=1 j=0 0 +1 +1 i

bmkk+j rj bmk(+1)+j rj

x(b

1 ) = (b

1)
i=m

b ai +
k=0 j=0 n i

x(b+1 1) = (b+1 1) (b+1 1)

b ai +

bm+j rj
j=0 m+j r j j=0 b

x=

i=m n i i=m b ai + b+1 1

Therefore, it has just been shown that a recurring decimal can be represented as the sum of two non-recurring decimals divided by an integer. Given the proof in the previous chapter involving the addition and subtraction of numbers, it is clear that if two terminating decimals are taken, their sum and difference are both also terminating. Therefore, a recurring decimal can always be written as a terminating decimal divided by an integer.

5.3 conditions for termination

25

Now, to show that any terminating decimal can be represented by an integer divided by an integer.
n

x=
i=m n

b i ai b i ai b ai

(5.2.1) (5.2.2) (5.2.3) (5.2.4) (5.2.5)

xbm = bm xbm = xbm = x=

i=m n i+m i=m n

bi aim

i=0 n i i=0 b aim bm

Therefore, by extension, any recurring decimal can also be represented by an integer divided by an integer. The important question is when a recurring decimal is formed by a quotient. In general, in everyday life, people dislike having recurring decimals. Consider the following proof. = 0.99999999...dec 10dec = 9.999999...dec 9 = 9 =1 (5.2.6) (5.2.7) (5.2.8) (5.2.9)

The majority of pupils are uncomfortable with this fact, that the same number can be represented with the same decimal representation.1 Therefore, it is best that a base results in as few recurring decimals as possible. 5.3 conditions for termination

So, the conditions which result in a terminating decimal are next to be found. It has been shown above that, for x being a terminating decimal, the following is true. x=
n i i=0 b aim bm

zZ

z bm

(5.3.1)

1 Tall, David and Schwarzenberger, R. L. E. (1978) Conicts in the learning of real numbers and limits. Mathematics Teaching, Vol.82 . pp. 44-49. ISSN 0025-5785

5.3 conditions for termination

26

The numerator of this is an integer and the denominator is a power of the base. Therefore, it follows that any integer divided by a power of the base in question is going to result in a terminating decimal. This is, however, a sufcient but not necessary condition. Consider the following: 23doz = 11.6doz 2 (5.3.2)

Here, we divided by 2, which is not a power of 12dec , however still attained a terminating answer. The reason for this is that 2 is composed of only prime factors of 12dec . Let d be any divisor which is only made out of the prime factors of b as thus:
n

b=
i=1 n

i p i

(5.3.3) (5.3.4)

n is the number of distinct prime factors of b

d=
i=1

i p i

Also, let = max( i ) i i i (5.3.5) (5.3.6)

With these denitions in place, all that needs to be achieved is to manipulate any fraction into the form z bm . x = d x
n i=1 n
i p i i i p i i p i

x, z Z

(5.3.7)

x =
i=1 n

(5.3.8)

i=1 n

x =
i=1 n

i i p i i p i )

(5.3.9)

(
i=1

xz = b

(5.3.10)

5.3 conditions for termination

27

Therefore, it has been shown that every divisor which is solely composed of primes which make up the base, results in a terminating decimal. Due to unique prime factorisation, there is no similar way to rearrange a division sum where the divisor has a prime which is not part of the base into the desired form unless p|x, in which case there is an integer solution. In dozenal, therefore, any divisor of the form d = 2x 3y (5.3.11)

will result in a terminating expansion. If this is compared to under decimal where the divisor must be in the form d = 2x 5y (5.3.12)

it is obvious that there are more divisors which result in a terminating expansion if dozenal is used. For example, if we look at divisors under 100, there are 20 which will result in a terminating dozenal expansion as compared to 14 if base ten is used. Considering that in real life, only low divisors are ever used without a computer taking over, it is more useful to look at divisors under ten. Of these, 7 will give terminating dozenal expansions and only 5 using decimal. The most obvious benet is that dividing by three will always result in a terminating dozenal expansion. In natural life, being able to divide by three is much more useful than dividing by ve; it is only the current decimal system which articially makes ve become a common number.

M AT H E M AT I C A L C O N C L U S I O N

6.1

weighing up pros and cons

Here, a judgement must be made, based on the theory outlined so far as to what the optimal base is. In terms of the number of different digits required, everybody has already proven they can easily learn 36 symbols just by learning their alphabet and decimal numerals. As a result, the quantity of different digits should not be an issue unless it becomes a ridiculously high number. At any rate, there is no issue with going all the way up to hexadecimal. There are however issues with the number of digits being able to represent a number. As discussed previously, having too low a radix means that representing large quantities requires extremely large numbers of digits. For this reason, I exclude binary or quaternary (base four) from being a viable base for use in everyday life. In order to both have many simple divisibility tests and have many divisors resulting in a terminating expansion, the base is required to have many different prime factors. Furthermore, it should be an expectation that one is able to halve numbers and always get a terminating expansion. Therefore the base must have two as a factor. However, only having two as a prime factor means that not many other numbers divide into values nicely. As a result I exclude octal and hexadecimal from being viable bases in real life. This only really leaves dozenal and decimal as viable bases. They are both similar, having the same number of prime factors and being similar in magnitude, meaning that they neither have too many results to remember for the times-tables nor require too many digits to express large values. However, the benet of twelve containing the rst two primes, makes it far more useful as a radix as there are so many more values which can be divided by giving us a terminating expansion. It also results in marginally shorter numbers when writing large quantities.

28

6.1 weighing up pros and cons

29

Whilst the differences may appear subtle, the ability to divide by the rst four natural numbers seems to make it a much more intuitive base than decimal. Dozenal strikes the optimal balance between magnitude and distinct prime factors. Six would be too small of a base, and thirty (2 3 5) would be too large; learning the times-tables would require knowing 406dec unique results. For these reasons, according to the theory, the optimal radix for general use is twelve.

Part 2 PRACTICALITIES
This section evaluates the practicalities of changing to dozenal and concludes whether or not it is ultimately worth changing

INFRASTRUCTURE

7.1

cost

Change is not cheap. Regardless which base makes the most sense, it has to be considered how much it would cost to implement the change. If one looks around a room, there will be countless objects which make use of numbers. Every single product which contains a number larger than 9 would be required to be redesigned, new moulds purchased, reprinted. Consumers often undervalue how much these production processes cost as they are happy beneters of mass production. For example, from discussion with engineers, it can easily cost upward of $50,000 for a single injection mould. Obviously, this value varies with size, material and intricacy. So, to have to change every single product which has numbers on it would cost an astronomical sum. As a result, there would not be universal adoption of the new base until they were going to have to buy new moulds anyway. 7.2 double standards

If there are two different numeral systems in use, there must be a way to distinguish if a number is written in decimal or dozenal. This dissertation used a subscript; however, it is likely that a new symbol would have to be devised; not unlike symbols for different currencies are used today. This would increase the amount of space that numbers would take to represent and introduce another level of thought before one can quickly gauge the magnitude of a written number. 7.3 information technology

It isnt only physical costs which need to be considered. It costs money to change pre-existing IT systems. Given that all numbers are converted into binary for usage by the processors, this isnt as big an issue as physical objects; however the sheer breadth of content and usage of IT means that it would be

31

7.4 education

32

no easy feat even to simply recongure input and output processes. There is also the potential for unforeseen errors to occur with the change. In particular, overow glitches may occur with standard default values which do not cause issues in decimal. Take for example, the value 1000000dec < 220 < 1000000doz (7.3.1)

When the maximum value of a variable is exceeded and it wraps back around to 0 The rst digit being used to represent sign

If a datum with a bit limit of 21 was applied to the value then inputting 1000000 would not cause an issue if it were decimal, but would if it were dozenal. While this example seems contrived; issues like this do actually arise. For example, the Year 2038 problem1 reared its head for AOLserver2 in 2006. Here, a default time-out of one billion seconds was used for a process which shouldnt time-out. This was ne until 2006, when this meant that systems would time out after 03:14:07 UTC on Tuesday, 19 January 2038. This is the time when a unix time stamp overows its limit as a 32-bit signed integer. As a result, it wrapped around to 1901. This caused the process to instantly throw up a time-out error. This situation occurred when the initial programmer knew what quantity one billion typed out would be. The prevalence of issues like this if every typed number were to be assumed to be written in dozenal in the source code would be massive; and potentially cost a lot of money in down time. A single hour of downtime can cost as much as $6.48 million for an online broker3 . 7.4 education

The length of time a computer will attempt a problem for before giving up and reporting an error.

By far, however, the largest obstacles to widespread adoption of a new numeral system are human beings. People are remarkably stubborn when it comes to change, as is illustrated in the next chapter. However, even if people are totally willing to adopt a new system, they still need to learn how to use it efciently. Society has segregated people into two groups who both have different needs when it comes to learning dozenal.

1 Code Quality: The Open Source Perspective; 607820146 2 www.mail-archive.com/aolserver@listserv.aol.com/ 3 www.information-management.com/infodirect/2009_133/downtime_cost10015855-1.html

7.4 education

33

7.4.1

Children

Children who are still at school have the advantage of not being entirely set into the ways of using decimal. As can be seen in mathematics students who learn radians after having been taught degrees for most of their education, children are able to rapidly adapt to a new system. Children have the opportunity to start entirely from scratch and learn dozenal from the ground up; in fact, things like times-tables will be easier in dozenal because there are nicer patterns formed by the digits than there are in decimal. 7.4.2 Adults

There are, however, problems for adults who want to learn a new system. Given how ingrained the old decimal system is, it would be difcult to truly adapt. Firstly, there is very little incentive for an adult to put effort into practising the new radix to the same extent of a child; there is no detention if they dont nish the worksheet. This means that, whilst they may understand the theory behind the new system, they are not nearly as uent with it as they are with decimals. Furthermore, their ability to glance at a number and ascertain size will be off as the same digits can now represent a substantially different quantity. Also, when rst using dozenal, people will convert each number into decimal in their head; do the calculation; and then convert back into dozenal. This is massively inefcient. However, until one is entirely uent with the new system, this is what they are forced to do, rather than doing the calculations in dozenal. When doing things like multiplication, someone who used to use decimal may confuse their decimal times-table with their dozenal and thus make calculation errors. They need to remember things like: 5 3 = 13doz = 15dec (7.4.1)

PA R A L L E L S T O M E T R I F I C AT I O N

The previous chapter outlined theoretical issues with a generalised conversion from decimal to dozenal. However, there exists no data to conrm if the concepts would actually occur in practice. There has never been such a massive shift in numerical notation within recent history. Historically, mathematics was the reserve of those few people who had an education. Ordinary people would simply be counting, using tallies etc. Therefore, it makes sense to compare the transition from decimal to dozenal with the transition between imperial and metric units. Whilst most countries have mainly converted to metric, there still remain countries who do not use metric for everyday use. This is a map showing when countries adopted the metric system.

The rst thing to notice about the image is the timespan which has passed since the metric system was rst introduced in France in 1795. To this day, there is little to no support of metric in the USA with the exception of the elds of science. This illustrates the societal inertia to new concepts where the general public are not fully convinced of the benets.

1 Data from USMA (U.S. Metric Association)

34

8.1 compatibility

35

8.1

compatibility

Whilst it could be said that there is no issue with there being an overlap of the two systems whilst dozenal is being learned, we can see from history the problems caused by both metric and imperial standards being in play at the same time. 8.1.1 Bridge Heights

In the UK, a larger proportion of crashes which involved lorries attempting to go underneath bridges which were too low for them was recorded for European lorry drivers compared to British drivers than should have been expected.2 This was put down to the fact that European drivers were used to seeing bridge heights in metres rather than feet, which resulted in them glancing at UK signs and assuming the bridge to be larger than it actually was. It was the use of two different standards in two different locations which caused these incidents to occur. It was proposed that bridge signs should have heights marked in both units. 8.1.2 Gimli Glider and NASA

It isnt just laypeople who make mistakes involving units and conversions, however. In 1983, a Canadian plane narrowly avoided crashing after it ran out of fuel mid-ight. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the plane had been provided with 22, 300lbs of fuel rather than 22, 300kg of fuel. This mistake could easily have resulted in a massive loss of life if one of the pilots had not also happened to be very adept in ying gliders and was able to guide the plane to safety. Even NASA has had problems coping with two different systems. When it contracted out production of the Mars Climate Orbiter, it stipulated that units were to be SI (metric). The subcontractor in charge of creating the Earth side control systems recorded output commands in pound force seconds rather than newton seconds. This meant that the Orbiter was not in the place it was expected and communication was lost when it attempted to get into orbit of Mars. It is assumed to have been

2 www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/trafcsignsamendmentregs/annexd.pdf

8.2 legislation

36

destroyed due to the higher pressure as it got closer to Mars than initially anticipated. 8.2 legislation

There were two main approaches taken with respect to converting into metric. The rst involved, in a short space of time, making metric legal and outlawing the old units. This occurred in India between 1 April 1960 and 1 April 1962. This method results in all units being converted into metric with a two year grace period for companies to relabel packaging and for people to get accustomed to the change. This was massively successful and countries such as Australia and New Zealand employed similar tactics. The second involved phasing the new units in over time and allowing a long period of time between legalising metric and banning imperial. For example, the [then] British Empire, made metric legal in 1873 and the UK still hasnt fully completed the conversion and exists in a limbo between metric and imperial. With the shift in UK education towards only teaching metric, however, it is likely that the conversion process will be completed the children of todays lifetime. However, legally, miles are still used in road signage and speed limits, with this unlikely to change in the near future. 8.3 conclusion

By analysing the similarities that would occur in the conversion process, it is seen that going from decimal to dozenal is not something that would happen overnight. Indeed, it may take multiple centuries until the world has fully transferred. Furthermore, people resist change and if even just one major country decides not to adopt the new system, then they will force the old base to remain in use for compatibility. Also, you will still get older people who simply refuse to try the new system in an attempt to keep with tradition.

Part 3 OVERALL CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

A balance has to be reached between the theoretical benets of switching to dozenal and the practical limitations when it comes to changing. Whilst dozenal makes elementary arithmetic easier and has more convenient answers, these benets do not outweigh the extremely large cost which adoption would incur. Even if, somehow, all global governments decided to support the change; the nancial cost and potential disarray and damage easily offset the advantages of dozenal. Furthermore, the advantages of dozenal do not transfer to high level mathematics. It only changes the notation of a quantity, not any of the features of the value. As a result, it does not help difcult problems nor particularly assist research. Therefore, in conclusion, while dozenal has been shown to offer substantial benets from a mathematical perspective compared with the current decimal system, the practicalities of implementation as a replacement to the current system render the change non-viable for general use.

38

Part 4 APPENDIX

RESEARCH REVIEW

Whilst it may seem that there are few sources, this is because of the nature of mathematics. After getting a prompt from a source, I set about investigating it on my own, with all of the equations in the dissertation being of my own creation. a.1 the heritage of thales

W S Anglin and Joachim Lambek, 978-0387945446 This was a fascinating book which, rather than simply presenting the mathematical concepts, placed them in historical context. As it was in chronological order, it ensured that I understood why certain types of proof were used. For example, if one were working before Newton / Leibnitz, they would be unable to use calculus in their proofs as it hadnt yet been invented. As a result, it opened me up to different methods of solving problems rather than the prescribed methods used for A-level. It is a book aimed at undergraduate maths students which used mathematical proof which means that I trusted what it said with regard to the mathematics and also the history of mathematics, despite being less certain. a.2 the art of computer programming - volume one

Donald Knuth, 0-201-89683-4 Given the majority of the rst volume was written using Assembly Language in all of the examples, I struggled to understand the majority of the concepts. However, whilst not knowing exactly what the algorithms were for, I was able to do the maths side of them in terms of calculating their efciency and run time order. I was also able to do the exercises which were to do with processing in order to learn about the usage of binary, octal and hexadecimal. Donald Knuth is one of the most respected computer scientist in the world and, as such, I found his work extremely reliable.

40

A.3 www. dozenalsociety. org . uk and www. dozenal . org

41

a.3

www. dozenalsociety. org . uk and www. dozenal . org

These are the Dozenal Society of Great Britain and of America respectively. I found these sites useful as a starting point in terms of researching the benets of dozenal. While the content in them is mostly anecdotal, the concepts they suggest were enough to springboard me to actually doing original research on the topics they mention. I also found them interesting as a commentary on societies in general. These are two groups who both have a shared goal, however cant even agree on which digits they should be using. Therefore, whilst I shouldnt take anything they had written directly as fact, I was able to work with their assertions and prove them myself. a.4 conflicts in the learning of real numbers and limits

Tall, David and Schwarzenberger, R. L. E. (1978) Mathematics Teaching, Vol.82 . pp. 44-49. ISSN 0025-5785 This paper looked at difculties in teaching concepts of recurring decimals. I learned about the education system as it was in 1978, specically with regard to series and limits in the syllabus. Whilst a lot has changed, there are still some glaring gaps which have not been patched. So, whilst it must be taken with a pinch of salt, I think that the point which I used in the dissertation is still valid despite the age of the source. a.5 code quality : the open source perspective

Diomidis Spinellis - 978-0321166074 Similar to the Knuth book, I couldnt make much of the actual programming content of the book, however I was able to learn about the Year 2038 problem and understand how it worked in theory. Quite ironically, the book was published a month before the issues I later mentioned. Spinellis is a well respected academic in the eld of computer science and so I trusted this as a source.

A.6 www. mail - archive . com

42

a.6

www. mail - archive . com

www.mail-archive.com/aolserver@listserv.aol.com It was very hard for me to nd academic papers on the 2006 AOLserver issues. However, I was able to nd an archive of emails sent to and from sysadmins about the server issues. These, as primary sources, were extremely interesting to read despite having to learn a little about server commands in order to understand the diagnostic questions being asked. While a single instance of the issue would not have been sufcient to suggest it was caused by the Unix 2038 problem, the sheer volume of issues seemingly caused by the time-out overow led me to conclude that, indeed it was Unix 2038 causing the server crashes. This taught me the signicance and danger which having arbitrary values could lead to. a.7 www. information - management. com

www.information-management.com/infodirect/2009_133/downtime_cost10015855-1.html Last retrieved 23 February 2013 This was probably the least reliable source I used within my research. I found it hard to actually nd data about how much downtime cost companies as very few companies wanted to directly report on it. Whilst this website did not cite its sources, it is, as far as a website can be trusted, fairly reputable in its eld. As the specic value was not particularly relevant to the point in hand beyond being a "big number", I did not consider it worthwhile searching deeper to see where the value came from. a.8 usma

United States Metric Association Data from the USMA was used in generating the map showing when the metric system had been adopted in various countries. Their data had been gathered by looking at the legislation in each of the countries to see when they had legally enforced the metric system. As such, it is an extremely reliable source.

A.9 www. dft. gov. uk

43

a .9

www. dft. gov. uk

www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/trafcsignsamendmentregs/annexd.pdf I did not read the entirety of this source as the majority of it was of no consequence to my dissertation. It would, however, be very reliable as it is from the Department For Transport.

ACTIVITY LOG

b.1

before october 2012 - research

Before October, my dissertation was going to be based on using maths to "solve" games, that is to say nd a strategy which is unbeatable using the rule set. b.1.1 July 2012

I generated a owchart of the solution to noughts and crosses and, from this, programmed an unbeatable AI using Game Maker Studio. I probably learned more about programming from this exercise than solving games as it is a rather simplistic game. I researched the solution to four in a row and was disheartened to discover that it had required a computer to "solve". I attempted to learn how the algorithm worked. Aside from a few tricks for simplifying the algorithms it used, the program had simply brute forced the game and worked backwards from possible nal positions. The same was true for Chequers. I also discovered that chess, despite top computers having been unbeatable since 2005, has not yet been solved. The stage has merely been reached that the computer can think far more moves ahead than a human and can play endgames perfectly. b.1.2 August 2012

I was in Ecuador for World Challenge so didnt get any research done. b.1.3 September 2012

According to my research most games in the normal sense of the word are requiring computers to brute force them after enough simplications had been applied. I read the rst volume of The Art Of Computer Programming to get an idea of how these algorithms to solve games were con-

44

B.2 writing the dissertation

45

structed. It was heavy going so I didnt understand nearly as much as I would have liked. The only games which were truly being solved mathematically were those which were mathematical in nature. For example, Conways Game Of Life and nim. Reading the solution to nim, made me research binary addition which led me to a Numberphile Youtube video. Their video on the dozenal system intrigued me and so I started research into it. b.2 b.2.1 writing the dissertation October 2012

Upon reading the arguments put forward on the various Dozenal Societies websites, I decided that switching to dozenal was a good idea. Changed the EPQ to looking at Dozenal as my previous title would have been about computer advances instead of maths I spent most of the month trying to prove their assertions rather than just take them at their word. I wrote my abstract. b.2.2 November 2012

I read The Heritage of Thales I wrote the introduction. I realised that using Microsoft Word for a maths based dissertation would look horrible. AT X I started to learn how to code in L E

b.2.3

December 2012

I realised that my report is massively one sided and I only consider the maths side of the issue. I noticed (from an internet argument no less) that in the USA, the metric system still has not been adopted. I started to research metrication and decided it made a good model for how a numeral change would occur. AT X I typed up my proofs in L E

B.2 writing the dissertation

46

b.2.4

January 2013

I didnt do much work for my EPQ as it was the exam season. I was looking up computer viruses our of interest and came across the Unix 2038 problem. I tried reading through Code Quality: The Open Source Perspective. I understood enough for the points I needed to make from it. b.2.5 February 2013

I decided that my initial conclusion was wrong as I had only considered the theoretical arguments. When looking at the practicalities, however, it seemed that keeping the status quo was the only solution. I rewrote my conclusion I redrafted everything I had written I started preparing for the presentation b.2.6 March 2013

I made nal preparations for the presentation. I gave the presentation. I put the EPQ together and created a glossary. I wrote my analysis of the process. I handed the EPQ in.

A N A LY S I S O F T H E E P Q P R O C E S S

The process of writing an EPQ is a long one, which required substantially more work than I had originally realised. The most signicant thing I have learned from the exercise is the importance of time management as it is something I have always struggled with. I have also acquired new skills with respect to analysing and using sources. Given my A Level subject choices, looking at the reliability of sources is not something I have had much experience in. Within mathematics, something has either been proven to be true, or it has not: There is no grey area, it is very much binary. In writing this EPQ, I have had to use my grey matter to explore this grey area for the rst time and decide whether or not certain sources are to be trusted. One of the most benecial things about the EPQ is probably the motivation it has given me to actually see research through to the end. Normally, when I am learning about new extracurricular concepts, I will nd out as much as I can and work through problems for a day or so. After this point, I get bored and move on to something else entirely. The EPQ process has forced me to keep working at a specic topic for a longer period of time, which is very useful. The presentation also forced me to work on my speaking skills. I decided to go for a "chalk and talk" method rather than using presentation software because I nd that, with mathematics, it can be very difcult to see how one line gets to the next if it is written down instantly, rather than a number at a time. The performance aspect of the process has increased my condence in public speaking and my ability to answer questions on the spot. Overall, I would say that the EPQ has been an incredibly fullling endeavour and I very much enjoyed putting together this dissertation.

47

G L O S S A RY

D
(D.1.1) (D.1.2) k , n Z, n k

d.1 d.1.1

notation Summation
n

f(k) = f(0) + f(1) + f(2) + ... + f(n)

k=0

The sigma notation indicates that a series is being summed. Underneath the sigma refers to the variable which is being used as a counter (convention dictates k,i or j) and which number it starts on. The value above sigma is the maximum value for the counter. Therefore, add together all of the values of f(k) between these limits. d.1.2 Logarithms x = by y = logb (x) (D.1.3)

Put simply, the logarithm of x, base b, is the power to which b must be raised to equal x. There exist a few rules which one should be aware of. logb (x) + logb (y) = logb (xy) y logb (x) = logb (xy ) logc x logb x = logc b (D.1.4) (D.1.5) (D.1.6)

Finally, ln(x), the natural logarithm, is dened to be loge (x) where e is Eulers number d.1.3 Ceiling The ceiling function is used to nd the smallest integer greater than or equal to a value. For example 5.42 = 6 (D.1.7)

48

D.1 notation

49

d.1.4

Floor

The oor function is used to nd the largest integer less than or equal to a value. For example 5.42 = 5 d.1.5 Product
n

(D.1.8)

f(k) = f(0) f(1) f(2) ... f(n)

k=0

(D.1.9) (D.1.10)

k, n Z, n

The pi notation indicates that a series is being multiplied. Underneath the pi refers to the variable which is being used as a counter (convention dictates k,i or j) and which number it starts on. The value above pi is the maximum value for the counter. Therefore, multiply together all of the values of f(k) between these limits. d.1.6 Set Notation means that a value belongs to a set. N is the set of natural numbers. Z is the set of integers. Q is the set of quotients. R is the set of real numbers.

d.1.7 Other means Q.E.D. means for all values. means equivalent. means "there exists". : means "such that". means "implies" means "implies and is implied by"

D.2 terminology

50

d.2 d.2.1

terminology Factor

x is a factor of y iff k : xk = y d.2.2 Prime

A number is prime iff its only factors are 1 and itself. d.2.3 Q.E.D.

Quod erat demonstrandum is latin for "which had to be demonstrated" and is used to signify when a proof has been completed. d.2.4 Numerator

The numerator is the top number in a fraction. d.2.5 Denominator

The denominator is the bottom number in a fraction. d.2.6 Sets

Integers are whole numbers. Natural numbers are positive whole numbers. Quotients are numbers which can be written as a fraction with an integer numerator and denominator. Real numbers are those which have no imaginary component. d.2.7 Modular Arithmetic

Also known as "clock arithmetic", modular arithmetic is where numbers are equivalent to each other if you are able to add or subtract a multiple of the base to get to one from the other. That is to say: xy where k Z (mod n) x = y + kn (D.2.1)

D E C L A R AT I O N

I declare the dissertation to be entirely my own work, with others ideas and theorems referenced when used April 2013

Alistair ONeill