> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-virus@lucifer.com [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com]On Behalf
> Of Eric Boyd
> Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 1998 7:52 PM
> To: virus@lucifer.com
> Subject: Re: virus: Running around in circles
>
>
> Hi,
>
> TheHermit: thanks for a great write up. I have one quibble to make.
>
> >The reason for 360 divisions is simple, it is based on the physical
> >measuring instruments which were available to them. In other
> >words, at the time that the division of the circle became a
> >convention, they could represent each quadrant with sixty
> >divisions. To go beyond that to 120 divisions was beyond the
> >limits of their technology.
>
> A quadrant is actually a quarter circle, i.e. 90 degrees, or 90
> divisions. Could you look this back up and find out what the real
> story is? (how about 6 regions of 60 degrees? 3 regions of 120?)
>
> >Thus the Greek system used in astronomy was a mixed
> >one: the whole part of the number was represented in the
> >decimal nonpositional system while the fractional part was
> >in the 60-base positional system--not a very logical solution
> >by the creators of logic! Following their happy example we
> >continue today to count hours and degrees (angular) in tens
> >and hundreds, but we divide them into minutes and seconds.
>
> Ha! That's who we gets to thank for that nasty conversion.
> Fortunatly, it's not a common one in my program... Otherwise I'd be
> pulling out the old time machine and telling 'em off!
>
> ERiC
>
>