Dynamism. Modularity. Structure. Concept. A new 'ism' Why is a minute divided into 60 seconds, an hour into 60 minutes, yet there are only 24 hours in a day? Michael A.
Lombardi, a metrologist in the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., takes the case. In today's world, the most widely used numeral system is decimal (base 10), a system that probably originated because it made it easy for humans to count using their fingers. The civilizations that first divided the day into smaller parts, however, used different numeral systems, specifically duodecimal (base 12) and sexagesimal (base 60).
Thanks to documented evidence of the Egyptians' use of sundials, most historians credit them with being the first civilization to divide the day into smaller parts. Lessons From The Last Time Civilization Collapsed : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture. From the Abu Simbel temples in southern Egypt, dating back to the 13th century B.C.
iStockphoto hide caption itoggle caption iStockphoto From the Abu Simbel temples in southern Egypt, dating back to the 13th century B.C. iStockphoto. TEDxBerlin - Bernard Lietaer - 11/30/09.