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Eleventy What?

Posted by Cliff on from the pronouncing-hexidecimal dept.

TheFr00n asks: "I recently managed to teach my ten year old son the hexadecimal number system, but he shot me back a question that has me stumped. How does one pronounce hex, after the first iteration? In decimal, we have nice words like 'fifty' and 'sixteen'. Is there an official way of pronouncing a hexadecimal number like CF9? 'See hundred and effty-nine'? (which is totally wrong anyway because a hundred is 64 in hexidecimal) Any thoughts?"

9 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. No worries here by itwerx · · Score: 2, Funny

    DEADBEEF always works for me but there are some who would consider it BADC0DE... :)

    1. Re:No worries here by bsmoor01 · · Score: 2, Funny

      How can you forget FECEFACE?!?!

  2. Color by David_Bloom · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, if it represented a color (#c0f090), I'd call it light green.

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  3. Heh by itwerx · · Score: 3, Funny

    "CF"
    "CF9"
    "CF9 with Jack and Jill"
    "Now F is tired"
    "CF sleep..."

    "69" comments are automatically modded redundant and posters will be assumed to have the mental age of an eggplant.

    1. Re:Heh by aeakett · · Score: 2, Funny

      That is way funny to us ColdFusion programmers!

  4. Re:I'll be so damn happy by addaon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Actually, he is. So very, very alone.

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  5. Maybe the media will show some interest by mbstone · · Score: 2, Funny

    Andy Rooney, for example, expounds on topics just as mundane and trivial as this one, every Sunday on 3C Minutes.

  6. I've thought about this by Rysc · · Score: 2, Funny

    and you're right, there is no current answer.

    What needs to be done is to invent words that mean each of these symbols. When you say A in hex it is not the alphabet A, it's a totally different concept and needs a different word to express it.

    The best way would be to invent and standardize a set of words for speaking numbers/about numbers in base 16. Because, really, 10 would be pronounced "sixteen" which makes no sense. Base16(16) should be pronounced "16" and mean base10(22).

    It's a culture/language thing, you see. In order to have it make sane sense you need to think of numbers in base 16, not 10.

    I have, of course, come up with my own words for each of these A-F numbers, with simple rules for how to pronounce combinations like 1CF anf D7B and so on. I'd post them, but I've mislaid the paper I wrote them on. And I think that illustrates my point: In order to remember/use these things properly, we'd have to think in another base. And that's just too impractical to be likely to happen.

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  7. Yes by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 3, Funny

    Is there an official way of pronouncing a hexadecimal number like CF9?

    "Three thousand five hundred seventy seven."