#base-12

I think the monsters use base-12. (I’m going to go ahead and explain base-12 since it’s not common knowledge, if you already know then you can skip the next paragraph!) Basically, base-12 (or duodecimal) is a numerical system in which twelve is the first double-digit number. Counting in duodecimal would look like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, X, Ε, 10 With X being equal to ten, Ε equal to to eleven, and 10 equal to twelve. The values are still the same, but the characters used to represent them change. This is admittedly a pretty sucky explanation but if anyone is genuinely curious I can try to do better lol ANYWAY my friend initially brought this up; she immediately paused after getting this dialogue:

[Image Description: Two text boxes indicate Papyrus’s dialogue. The first reads “I’m just a dozen away...” and the second says “from a double digit follower count!”] If monsters are using duodecimal, this would make a lot more sense! Instead of having -2 followers like he would have in decimal (or 111 if you want to get SUPER nit-picky), he would just have... 0. I think this is probably the most convinving piece of evidence in our favor. Of course it could just be some fun dialogue Toby through in as a joke, but overanalysis is fun so. I’m not stopping there. Next I noticed the in-game year:

[Image Description: A screencap from the opening sequence. Pictured is a mountain, labelled Mt. Ebbot 201X] So, initially, I believed 201X was meant to indicate some year between 2010 and 2019, with X replacing the last number. BUT if you consider that X is a character marking the value of ten in duodecimal, the year becomes 3478 in decimal (aka base-10, the number system we use). Now if the year had only been mentioned in the opening sequence, it would be a lot easier to play off as an unknown, but it’s written on a calendar in Asgore’s house!

[Image Description: A screencap from inside Asgore’s house. Frisk is inspecting a bookshelf. The text reads “There’s an old calendar here from the end of 201X. A date is circled on it.”]

You can’t really make a calendar for a nondescript year (unless he’s got just... a nine year calendar?) so it would actually make more sense, in my opinion, for 201X to indicate an exact year in duodecimal than a range of years in decimal. Those are my really hard-hitters, but I also think it’s cool to think about WHY monsters would use duodecimal. The reason humans use base-10 is because we typically have 10 fingers. It would be easier for a person with 10 fingers, 10 ‘digits,’ to use a mathematical system based around the number 10. But as far as I can tell, monsters don’t have 10 fingers. Granted, this could be more related to art-style, but the coincidences are stacking up at this point, right? Look at these sprites:

[Image Description: Toriel’s death sprite. She’s holding one hand against her chest while the other rests on the floor.}

[Image Description: Mettaton’s first battle sprite. He holds a microphone in one hand. His other hand is outsretched.] I dug through a lot of sprites trying to count fingers, but these two stood out the most: They both appear to have 4 digits on each hand. If we are to assume that the monsters have been sealed underground for a while, it would make sense for them to eventually convert to a numerical system that fit them better, right? So they would probably want to choose a base divisible by the number of fingers they have on a hand. It just so happens that 12 is divisible by 4.  Sure, they could also use another base like 16, but Papyrus’s initial comment and the fact that X is used instead of A have me leaning towards 12.

TL;DR the monster’s numerical system revolves around the number 12 instead of 10.

@hazelriver74 for some reason Tumblr won't let me answer the ask so I'm making a post for it instead.

Okay, so about that.

Since the numeral system is base-12* (aka duodecimal), the 12 is a basic unit, written as "10". Thus,

"10" = 12 = 12x1 "100" = 144 = 12x12 "1 000" = 1728 = 12x12x12

And while yes I didn't specify that, "20" would simply be "juta sjantiku", which is just "two twelve's", aka decimal 24.

"Sjantiku sjantiku" is just "twelve times twelve", thus, 144 = "100", thus, Bodumu, which is mentioned below Sjantiku.

The fact that the Collabolang doesn't have grammatical number and it's all contextual does make it bit weird, but in-universe it can be plausible.

You should remember what you saw. Even if it has soon disappeared, you should continue to be confident of your thought on what you saw. 見えたものは、ずっと憶えておこう。それが消え去っても、自分が見たものに対する考えを信じ続けよう。

Since the introduction of Base-12 connectivity in the mid 1990s, the 12-fiber MTP/MPO connector and Base-12 connectivity have served the data center for about twenty years. It has helped a lot in achieving high-density and manageable cabling. Recently, many documents and posts are discussing about a new technology—Base-8. Its appearance is regarded as the evident need of future networks. Even though most of the words are promoting the overwhelming advantages of Base-8 system, we should still consider the defects and merits of these two systems based on some facts before taking the next step by ourselves. This post is a discussion on this topic.

Facts of Base-12 and Base-8

In this part, the design features of Base-12 and Base-8 systems will be introduced. And their dominant advantages are going to be discussed too.

Design Features

Base-12 connectivity makes use of links based on groups of 12, with 12-fiber connectors such as the MTP. In Base-12 connectivity, for example, trunk cables have fiber counts that are divisible by number 12, like 24-fiber trunk cable, 48-fiber trunk cable and all the way up to 144 fibers. However, in a Base-8 system, we don’t have 12-fiber trunk cable, instead we have 8-fiber trunk cable, 16-fiber trunk cable, 32-fiber trunk cable and so on. All trunk cables are based on increments of 8 fibers.

Base-12 and Base-8 trunk cables are visually different on connector design. A Base-12 trunk cable generally has unpinned (female) connectors on both ends and demands the use of pinned breakout modules. In the new emerging Base-8 system, a trunk cable is designed with pinned (male) connectors, as a result, it should be connected to unpinned components.

Figure: Unpinned and Pinned Connectors

Comparison

Compared with Base-8, Base-12 obviously has the benefit of higher connector fiber density. Thus a larger number of fibers can be installed more quickly when using Base-12 connectivity. And it is very easy to be deployed into all-ready existing Base-12 architecture. As the networks are migrating to 40G and 100G data speeds, Base-8 connectivity has some advantages that cannot be denied. For some 40G and 100G applications, including SR4 (40G and 100G over parallel MMF) and PSM4 (100G over parallel SMF) supported eight-fiber transceivers, and SAN switch Base-8/Base-16 port arrangements, Base-8 connectivity is a more cost-effective choice. In these applications, Base-8 enables full fiber utilization for eight-fiber transceiver systems. But Base-8 connectivity is not optimized for all situations, including duplex protocols like 25G and 100G (duplex SMF).

Correct Co-existence of Base-8 and Base-12

If we are going to deploy Base-8 devices in our existing network, it is possible to have Base-12 and Base-8 connectivity at the same time as long as we do not mix them in the same link. On one hand, it is not wise to use conversion module between Base-12 and Base-8 devices, because the added cost and increased insertion loss will surpass the benefits it can brought. As mentioned before, the two systems are not interchangeable since they usually have different connector configurations and have unequal attachment requirements. Therefore, special care should be given when managing the data canter physical layer infrastructure, to ensure that the Base-12 and Base-8 components are used separately.

Conclusion

When a new technology comes out as a new option for us, we need to decide whether to change or not. In terms of the discussion on Base-12 and Base-8 systems, after listening to voices from different sides, the key factors are still determined by own specific needs. If we decided to move to the new technology, the following question is how to realize the best migration. Having comprehensive understanding of the solutions and products vendors supply will never be a bad choice.

Although 10 Gigabit Ethernet is still marketing its way into the data centers, the need for faster data transfer rates is relentless, which means the migration to 40 Gigabit Ethernet is becoming inescapably compelling. For 40G Ethernet network, there are mainly two connectivity methods, one is Base-8, and the other is Base-12. Base-12 connectivity has had its place in the data center, while Base-8 is a new connectivity that could gain widespread acceptance in the next few years. With these two methods existing in 40G Ethernet network, there comes problems: Which one is more suitable for 40G network, or can we both use these two methods in 40G network? Read this articles, and you will get the detailed answers.

Base-12 Dominates the Market

Base-2 connectivity is the most commonly used one in the past, but as the data center grew to thousands of fiber ports engaged, stringing two-fiber patch cords across all corners of the data center will result in an unmanageable, and unreliable mess. So Base-12 connectivity is introduced. It is designed to develop a modular, high density, structured cabling system which could be deployed in data centers quickly, while also maximizing port densities within the rack space. In this connectivity method, all the fiber optic cables are based on an increment of 12 fiber, like 12-fiber or 24-fiber MTP trunk cable.

Base-8 Shines the Light

Base-12 connectivity is common in data center, but here comes a problem when installed it in a parallel system. For example, if we need to use 40GBase-SR4 optics implemented in a 12-fiber infrastructure, four fibers for transmit, and four fibers for receive, leaving four fibers unused per connection, this will lead to a significant and costly loss in fiber network utilization. But Base-8 can be a more cost-effective option for end-to-end MPO to MPO channels and architectures. With 8-fiber infrastructure, the 40GBase-SR4 module will use all the 8 fibers. Base-8 connectivity makes use of fiber links in increment of 8 versus 12. The 12-fiber trunk cables are replaced with trunk cables in increment of 8: 8-fiber, 16-fiber, or 24-fiber trunk cables, etc.

Can We Use Base-8 and Base-12 Together?

Although using Base-8 connectivity could decrease fiber consuming in supporting 40G data rates, in fact, in many cases, Base-8 connectivity isn’t a universal solution, and Base-12 may still be more cost-effective. So is it possible to have both Base-8 and Base-12 connectivity in the same data center? The answer could be “Yes” or “No”.

Base-8 and Base-12 Fiber Links Cannot Be Mixed and Matched

It is never possible to directly mix the components of Base-8 and Base-12 connectivity, or plug a Base-8 trunk into a 12-fiber module. Because a Base-12 trunk cable normally has unpinned MTP connector on both ends, and requires the use of pinned 12-fiber breakout modules, while a Base-8 trunk cable is manufactured with pinned MTP connectors at both ends (pinned and unpinned MTP connectors are shown below). So if we plug a Base-8 trunk into a 12-fiber breakout module, just like trying to mate two pinned connectors together, this connection will definitely not work, and vice verse.

Base-8 and Base-12 Can be Maintained in the Same Data Center Separately

It is possible to deploy both Base-8 and Base-12 connectivity within the same data center, just as long as the links are separate. Since Base-8 and Base-12 components are not interchangeable, during managing the data center physical layer infrastructure, we should do careful management and labeling practice to ensure we will not mix or mismatch them.

Conclusion

Base-12 connectivity has dominated the 40G network market for years, while the Base-8 connectivity is an additional option in the network designer’s tool kit to ensure that data centers have the most cost-effective, future-proof network available. When using Base-8 and Base-12 in network, make sure that you need to carefully manage and label them, and that the components in Base-8 and Base-12 won’t be mixed.