Subject: Re: bases [was: Re: [lojban] Re:HEX advert... (Don't know what it was)

From: Robin Lee Powell <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 12:58:35 -0700

On Sun, May 05, 2002 at 07:53:36PM +0100, And Rosta wrote:
> > From: John Cowan [mailto:[email-masked]]
> > Sent: 11 November 2001 17:43
> > 
> > And Rosta scripsit:
> > 
> > > And, similarly, just because Lojban has noncompositional words for
> > > zero through to 15 does not mean Lojban by default uses base 16.
> > 
> > Note that dau does not represent the *number* 10, but the *digit*
> > 10; a fine distinction, but important.
> 
> What is the distinction?

li pano in base 10 == the number 10 (in base 10).
lu pano li'u in base 10 == the digits '1' and '0'.
li dau in base 10 == nothing/meaningless.
li dau in base 11+ == the number 10
zo dau in base 11+ == the digit '10'.

Not sure I can explain it better.
-Robin

-- 
http://www.digitalkingdom.org/~rlpowell/ BTW, I'm male, honest.
le datni cu djica le nu zifre .iku'i .oi le so'e datni cu to'e te pilno
je xlali -- RLP http://www.lojban.org/