why the original digits are from 0 to 9 only?why not more or less than that?

Question

from where the 0 came ?is there any relation of the origin of the digits, with the early man's habit of counting on fingers?

Answer 1

Our math is in base 10. Maybe it is because of ten little fingers and ten little toes, I don't know.

We have ten numerals, 0 - 9. All numeric values can be expressed with these numerals ie, 1, 340, 299583, 38056940

We have all learned the basics. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, etc.

x = ones (0-9)
xx = tens (10,20,30,etc)
xxx = hundreds (you get the picture)

You progress by multiplying by 10.
10x10= 100
100x10=1000
1000x10=10000
etc

You can use other bases though. You've heard of binary (base 2). Same concept, but only 2 numerals. 0 and 1.

Binary example:
2
2 x 2 =4
4 x 2 = 8
8 x 2 = 16
etc.

The original digits aren't neccessarily 0-9. Ancient civilizations have used other bases that focused on things like the lunar cycle.

Common math (base10 aka 0-9) is simple. Add a zero, move a decimal point. Much better than figuring out how to make your addition account for a "leap year."

Answer 2

With the original digits, 0 to 9, you can make all other numbers you will ever need. Why would early man need to use a zero & how would he use it in counting? I would think that this had nothing to do with early man's using his fingers for counting. This would have been when man began to write numbers that these digits were first used.

Answer 3

How about, "-9 to 0 to 9!?" =<)

Answer 4

Check out the Schoolhouse Rock: Multiplication Rock segments on 0 (My Hero, Zero) and 12 (Little Twelvetoes) for cool explanations of how 0 makes working with numbers easy, and what would happen if we all had 12 fingers instead of 10!

http://www.school-house-rock.com/multiplicationrock.html
http://www.school-house-rock.com/0.html
http://www.school-house-rock.com/12.html