Quote (thenoose @ 12 Jun 2014 02:51)
Not really, computers have low and high. Its much easier to make hardware that only has to deal with two different states instead of three or more.
as said before, most processing systems are build do deal with multiple bits at one time (ie using a base of a power of two) rather than working on a bit by bit and emulating a turing machine
I'm more referring to an actual base 12 or other number system (or perhaps notation) like hexadecmial that uses a single symbol for all the digits less than the base. A foot has twelve inches in it but you still write it as 12 inches, not 10 inches like you would in base-12.
you have to be careful to distinguish between notation and the base of counting used
our current decimal system and notation is quite modern and derived from the arabic system
some ancient greek states used a base 20 system
base 20 system is still reflected in english (eg describing someones age as four score and two) and even more in french with (eg quatre-vingt)
systems based on twelve were also common, stemming from roman times
don't forget the dozen and that hundred did at some time refer to 144 ie 12*12 (the 'grosshundert' aka 144 was used in german side by side with 'hundert' aka 100, less than 100 years ago)
and it is still reflected in the english language where teens start at thirteen because eleven and twelve had and have their specific relevance
if you look at the history of measures and weight you will be surprised how many different systems/notations were used