Numeration Systems

The base of a numeration system is its frame of reference or the starting point on which it grounds its counting method. Although any numeration system must be abstract, the basic concept of number makes more sense to people if it has some obvious, immediate reference point in human experience. For that reason, many bases of numeration systems are founded upon the most obvious and immediate things in a person's visual field: a person's arms, hands, fingers, and toes. Common bases of numeration systems are the two arms of a person (base 2 system), the fingers of one hand (base 5 system), the fingers of both hands (base 10 system), or the total of all a person's fingers and toes (base 20 system). There are many other bases for numeration systems (base 4, base 7, base 8, base 16, etc.), but only a few will be discussed here.