So have you ever wondered why there are 360 degrees in a circle? Or why there are 60 minutes in an hour? or 60 seconds in a minute? Seems rather weird doesn’t it. Well, don’t worry - it’s not an evil conspiracy.
Simple Answer: Blame the Babylonians (about 4000 years ago!) - they used the Sexagesimal system. Don’t get excited - it means that instead of using base 10 (as we do) they used base 60. They chose 60 because 60 has a lot of factors, which made fraction calculations a lot easier!
Like to know more on the Babylonians and mathematics, then check out this site that gives you a great overview.
For more info check out Shaun McCarthy’s blog or see what Dr Math has to say about it! You can also read more about Sexagesimal on wikipedia.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment