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Finger counting gives away your nationality

bbc.com

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Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#31

Post by nikhilgk »

gumby wrote: post #11

> In India, for example, they use the lines between the segments of the fingers to count. My mother does this, and additionally used to do arithmetic this way. She never really taught us how to do math this way.

> In India, for example, they use the lines between the segments of the fingers to count. > This means each digit can represent four numbers and the whole hand can represent 20.

The first part is true, but not the second part. You use the thumb as a pointer to track the lines on the other 4 fingers. So you count up to 16 on each hand. Besides, the thumb has 1 line segment less than the other fingers.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#32

Post by eurasiantiger »

jhncls wrote: post #7

The correct way is to count in binary, and easily reach 1023 without needing a third hand [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_binary

I tried ordering 99 glasses of beer because why not, the waiter took a while and finally arrived holding 792 beers.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#33

Post by pedrosorio »

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #15

And a key plot point in Inglourious Basterds . https://www.businessinsider.com/order-a-beer-like-a-german-2...

The bbc article claims in the UK (and “many countries in Europe”) start with the thumb, but the Inglorious Basterds scene seems to contradict that.

The business insider article also claims people start counting with their thumb in Portugal but I start with the index finger and while I’m not sure everyone else does it, I think using the 3 middle fingers to represent the number 3 (like the British spy) is far more common than using the thumb.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#35

Post by Talanes »

Every time I've heard some variation of this, the example is always three. I'm more interested in four. Does the pattern follow through? Because I physically can't hold up 3 fingers and my thumb without the pinky going up to, when I do 3, my thumb is holding my pinky down.

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#36

Post by dylan604 »

pedrosorio wrote: post #33
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #15

And a key plot point in Inglourious Basterds . https://www.businessinsider.com/order-a-beer-like-a-german-2...

The bbc article claims in the UK (and “many countries in Europe”) start with the thumb, but the Inglorious Basterds scene seems to contradict that. The business insider article also claims people start counting with their thumb in Portugal but I start with the index finger and while I’m not sure everyone else does it, I think using the 3 middle fingers to represent the number 3 (like the British spy) is far more comm…

If I start counting thumb-1, index-2, middle-3, i can't raise my ring finger without the pinky coming up to properly display 4 fingers up.

If I start counting index-1, middle-2, ring-3, my thumb holds down the pinky to display 3 fingers.

Until just now, I had never tried, so I assume it is a practice thing.

Edit: should have read further in the thread. i'm clearly not the only one

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#39

Post by dylan604 »

jjgreen wrote: post #3

Drinking outside a bar in Paris (so table service) with my girlfriend, the glasses approach empty so I turn to catch the barman's eye. He flicks the Vs (I am culturally sensitive so not offended, he means "two more pints?"), I return the thumbs-up. He brings one pint.

That's interesting. How can one differentiate the two then? Does the wrist position matter? A thumb out with the wrist twisted so the thumb is at an angle indicates "1", but a forward thrusted wrist so the thumb is pointing up and towards the person mean "yes, good job"? Is the second meaning lost entirely to the barman?

If you had flashed OK hand gesture, would the barman have poured 3 pints, or thought you were a member of a fringe group?

Re: Finger counting gives away your nationality

#40

Post by dylan604 »

jhellan wrote: post #34
jhncls wrote: post #7

The correct way is to count in binary, and easily reach 1023 without needing a third hand [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_binary

I am guilty of having taught that to a five year old during a hiking trip. He is now an engineer.

I taught a 5 year old that 1 + 1 = 10, and they got in trouble at school for arguing with the teacher. Even after explaining that 1 + 1 = 10 in binary specifically, as the teacher was complaining to the parents "whatever that means". The parents asked me to be more careful with my "teaching".
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