Base 13: Difference between revisions
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This system was used in some [[encryption]] algorithms. |
This system was used in some [[encryption]] algorithms. |
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In the end of ''[[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe]]'' by [[Douglas Adams]], a possible question to have the answer "forty-two" is presented: "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" Of course, the answer is deliberately wrong, creating a humourous effect – if the calculation is carried out in [[Decimal|base 10]]. People who were trying to find a deeper meaning in the passage soon noticed that in base 13, 6 × 9 ''is'' actually 42. When confronted with this, the author stated that it was a mere coincidence, and that ''" |
In the end of ''[[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe]]'' by [[Douglas Adams]], a possible question to have the answer "forty-two" is presented: "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" Of course, the answer is deliberately wrong, creating a humourous effect – if the calculation is carried out in [[Decimal|base 10]]. People who were trying to find a deeper meaning in the passage soon noticed that in base 13, 6 × 9 ''is'' actually 42. When confronted with this, the author stated that it was a mere coincidence, and that ''"Nobody writes jokes in base 13."'' See also [[The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything]]. |
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Revision as of 15:07, 27 July 2004
Base 13 is a nonstandard positional numeral system. It may also be called tredecimal or tridecimal. As its names state, it uses 13 different digits for representing numbers. Suitable digits for base 13 could be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, and C.
This system was used in some encryption algorithms.
In the end of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams, a possible question to have the answer "forty-two" is presented: "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" Of course, the answer is deliberately wrong, creating a humourous effect – if the calculation is carried out in base 10. People who were trying to find a deeper meaning in the passage soon noticed that in base 13, 6 × 9 is actually 42. When confronted with this, the author stated that it was a mere coincidence, and that "Nobody writes jokes in base 13." See also The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.