system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If we didn't use the decimal system would we still be where we are today with physics? Additionally, could our use of decimal be what is handicapping us from solving/discovering further laws of physics?

I apologize if this question is elementary at all. I've only recently began (to try) learning some physics, and admittedly do not have an education in any higher mathematics, but everything certainly seems to rely so heavily on math. This is understandable because it makes predictions we can actually test and answers questions for us. But after trying to find out why we actually use base ten, I haven't come across a clear cut for sure answer. Could we be at a different place all together in physics if we weren't using the decimal system? Do physicists ever try to solve problems using a different numbering systems, would current equations still work the same? IF humanity *created* math rather than *discovered* it and we have made it this far, could switching numbering systems enable us to find out new laws of physics or equations which we are currently handicapped to discover?
gpt
This is a common misconception, that our understanding of mathematics is somehow connected to the base we represent numbers in. In reality, nothing about the numbers changes when you represent them in a different base. Different bases can make mental arithmetic a bit easier in some cases, but that has basically nothing to do with mathematics research. To answer your specific questions:

>Could we be at a different place all together in physics if we weren't using the decimal system?

History is chaotic, so it's impossible to say for certain what the result of any specific hypothetical change would be, but there's no reason to believe a different base would have any noticeable effect on our scientific development.

>Do physicists ever try to solve problems using a different numbering systems, would current equations still work the same?

Using a different base doesn't change anything about the numbers themselves just how you represent them. Thus, any equation that's true in one base is true in every base. It's a bit like asking whether Newton's law of gravity is still true if you translate it to a different language.

>IF humanity created math rather than discovered it and we have made it this far, could switching numbering systems enable us to find out new laws of physics or equations which we are currently handicapped to discover?

This is basically the same answer as the second question.