Base 60

Base 60 is an interesting concept that I've never really given a lot of thought. It's something that I had been introduced to in my high school mathematics classes, but we did not dive very deep into understanding how it might compare to using base 10. The most obvious observation and one I believe to be the most important is how dynamic the number 60 is. The number 60 can be split evenly by 30, 20, 15, 12, 10, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. 

I would say that tracking time is the only example in my current daily life that I use base 60. However, I understand that it is has been used for thousands of years as a numeral system. It seems as though the reason why 60 was chosen is somewhat of a mystery, but an interesting explanation is that it is the smallest number divisible by the first six counting numbers (1-6).

Based on reading through the internet, some of the applications of the Base 60 system that have were started many years ago, but have sustained into the present: 

1. Time
2. Angles
3. Geographic coordinates
4. Electronic navigation

Overall, this exercise of evaluating the historic and current uses of base 60 has been enlightening. We have been taught our whole lives the base 10 system, but the base 60 concept was hardly touched on - making it very interesting to learn about now.