The trinary system is key, except why only 3 positions?
Each finger has 3 segments and each segment has a right side, a middle, and a left side. Including not using a finger, that gives you 10 'positions' per finger. If you used your right hand to point to segments on your left hand, you could count to 99,999 before you ever resorted to toes.
Using the same idea, except using both hands to point at segments on your toes, you could count to 9,999,999,999.
Hopefully, you could count fast. 9,999,999,999 seconds would last over 318 years.
As for the Chisenbop method, it should be taught in grade school about the first time students are introduced to Roman numerals. Then maybe students would see the power that extra five gives them.
hbarrass2006-07-14T13:15:05Z
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1,048,575
(if you can speak binary)
If you could hold your fingers in 1 of 3 positions then the number would be - 3,486,784,400 (but people will stare at you)
Quickly the answer is and it all depends on the numerical system: base 10 max=110 base 5 max=780 Please see details below.
It all depends if you are using them as counting device or as a counter (like in a place holder). as a counter you are limited to 20. or you can count by assigning to your toes values of 10 and fingers value of one, then you can count up to 110 (in decimal system) in general max=sum(base^bands-n) where n is always number of bands -1.
In decimal system we have 2 bands where hands form one band and the feet the other and n=2-1=1. max=10^2 + 10=110
If you want to use base 5 then each hand or foot will represent a band and n =3 max=5^4+5^3+5^2+5^1= =625+125+25+5= =780
The base of 2 or binary will give you a much bigger number. like in max=2^20+2^19+...+2= =1,048,576+524,288+...+2= ...got the idea?
also
You can use your fingers and toes as if you would use abacus beads.
And what about chisenbop? Check the sites below. The first one, on chisenbop, I believe fits well with your question. The second site provides an excellent tutorial.
using each appendage as a digit in a base 6 number system, you can count to 5555, which equals 1295 (base 10). It's 1295 because the next number would be 10000 (base 5), which is 6^4 or 1296 (base 10). So you can count from 0 to 6^4-1.
I originally used base 5, but you can use base 6 as well. The reason you can do base 6, is because you really have the digits 0-5 available on each appendage.