============================================================ '|. '|' The DSA . |'| | .... ... ... ... .... .... .... .... .||. | '|. | .|...|| || || | ||. ' .| '''' .|| ||. ' || | ||| || ||| ||| . '|..|| .|' || . '|.. || .|. '| '|...' | | |'..|' '|...''|..'|'|'..|' '|.' ============================================================ The Dozenal Society of America Vol. 1, Iss. 1 Official Newsletter 7 Mar 11E9 ============================================================ = http://www.dozenal.org = ============================================================ ==========================CONTENTS========================== 1. The DSA Newscast 2. Dozenal News December 11E8 January 11E9 February 11E9 3. Backmatter ============================================================ = The DSA Newscast = ============================================================ This is the first issue of the DSA Newscast, the new (hopefully) monthly publication of the Dozenal Society of America. There are two things which need to be explained here: our name, and our purpose. The name, the DSA Newscast, is a nod to the publication of our British brethren at the Dozenal Society of Great Britain, who published their flagship journal _The Duodecimal Newscast_ from 1173 (1959.) to 117X (1966.), before they began publishing a more formal journal. Our purpose is similarly simple: to provide a more regular and more down-to-earth publication for the world of dozenals than is currently available. The Newscast is *not* intended as a substitute or replacement for _The Duodecimal Bulletin_; the purposes of the two publications are quite different. As explained in our namesake's first issue by Brian Bishop: Until we can start a regular magazine I shall keep members informed of activities in the world of duodecimals by means of such circular letters as this. I should also like members to use it to air their views. This little newsletter is for minor things, things too small or brief or inconsequential for the _Bulletin_; or, conversely, things too time-sensitive or urgent to wait for the next _Bulletin_. It's perfectly suited for: - An announcement of a dozenal-related gathering; e.g., a meetup in a given city at a certain time; - You've found an opportunity to speak on dozenals at a conference, school, or other venue, and you want to invite dozenalists to show support; - You've seen a dozenal article somewhere (or written one) and want to draw fellow dozenalists' attention to it; - There's a discussion on dozenalism occurring somewhere, and you want to enlist the aid and wisdom of other dozenalists in it; - You've seen some curious use of dozenalism not worth a real academic article but still interesting enough to tell others about; - Anything else of this nature. Please, make liberal use of this newsletter for these types of purposes; our goal is to ensure it becomes a useful resource, and with this purpose, it can only be useful if it is actually used. ============================================================ = NEWS = ============================================================ DECEMBER 11E8 December was a landmark month for dozenals; because although it was merely the year 11E8, an number unremarkable except for its closeness to 1200, in decimal it was the year 2012., which caused December to contain the date (in decimal) 12/12/12. Although this date was really unremarkable in dozenal, it caused a watershed of interest in dozenal, and we had the publicity to match. - "Dozenalists of the world unite! Rise up against the tyranny of ten!" Alex Bellos, author of the popular math book _Here's Looking at Euclid_ (an excellent read, by the way), had already interviewed your _Bulletin_ editor and past president, Mike deVlieger, at some length; for this occasion, he wrote an article for the _Guardian_ blog with the above title. He interviewed your president and Mr. deVlieger again, eventually producing a wonderful article on dozens. You can read it at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/alexs-adventures-in-numberland/2012/dec/12/dozenalists-world-unite-tyranny-ten - The above article was translated many times into many languages, most interestingly into Hebrew, at: http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/science/1.1885049 - Janice Lloyd wrote briefly about us in _USA Today_: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/11/121212-twelve-weddings-bruce-magic/1761127 - The Danbury _News-Times_, originally on the front page but later moved to "Weird News" (!): http://newstimes.com/news/us/article/Americans-finding-dozens-of-ways-tomark-12-12-12-4109223.php - James Grime, the Internet's "Numberphile," produced a very enthusiastic 9-minute introductory video on dozenal on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DU6xJfP7-HCc&list=3DUUoxcjq-8xIDTYp3uz647V5A - Mike deVlieger was interviewed by ABC Australia Pacific Radio. As Mr. deVlieger wrote in his summary of the publicity to the officers of the DSA: The Society's Founder F. Emerson Andrews reached many through the Atlantic Monthly, and touched off the Society. In the 1970s, ABC showed the "Little Twelvetoes" animated short on Saturday mornings throughout the 70s and 80s. Gene was interviewed on NPR in 1994. This event stands alongside these as a significant publicity event. We can be sure that we all participated in furthering the aim of our Society to educate the public on the benefits of the twelve system! We do hope Mr. Emerson, Beard, Churchman, and the many others that followed and contributed do smile upon this day as the day the world marveled at twelve. Further comment hardly seems necessary. Dr. Paul Rapoport (#230) of McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CA, who many years ago produced physical dozenal digital clocks, has produced a set of dozenal analog computer clocks, which an be customized in a variety of ways. Find them at: http://dozenal.ae-web.ca This adds to the existing set of dozenal analog computer clocks: http://www.gingerbill.org/dozenal/demo.html http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/uncialclock/ http://gorpub.freeshell.org/dozenal/blosxom.cgi/clock.html Thanks to Dr. Rapoport for sponsoring this project, which is discussed at the DozensOnline forum. JANUARY 11E9 Treisaran, on the DozensOnline forum, has developed a difficult but still usable test for divisibility by seven; it works with modifications in both decimal and dozenal. http://z13.invisionfree.com/DozensOnline/index.php?showtopic=840 He calls it the Abbreviated Power-alpha Test; it is related to, though more complicated than, his SPD (Split, Promote, Discard) test for divisibility by five: http://treisaran.deviantart.com/art/SPD-Test-Guide-large-font-fast-version-310345329 Both of these are well worth a read; and SPD in particular, as it fills a rare lacuna in dozenal divisibility tests. The Internet website io9, which bills itself as "a daily publication that covers science, science fiction, and the future," has published an article on dozenal: http://io9.com/5977095/why-we-should-switch-to-a-base+12-counting-system It's an excellent article, which plainly borrows from some earlier articles (right down to cribbing some graphics from them wholesale), but which is nevertheless worth a read. George Dvorsky, the author, has written a wonderful little piece for explaining "why we should have adopted a base-12 counting system --- and how we could still make it work." FEBRUARY 11E9 Your officers and board have begun the job of cleaning up the formalities of the Society, and have made significant progress this month. For example, we have begun the process of restoring our tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (lost several years ago due to some rather esoteric regulation changes). We will keep members updated on this matter in the _Newscast_ (and, of course, in the _Bulletin_). This month, the DSA launched its newly engineered and improved web site, still at the same domain, dozenal.org. The new website includes: - A complete set of digital copies of past _Bulletins_. - A list of resources for using dozenal, including calculators, measurement converters, and fonts. - The same set of digital articles, plus a few additions and improvements. - Remastered version of the Aspirant's Tests and answers, with links between them. - Remastered version of F. Emerson Andrews's landmark "An Excursion in Numbers." - Remastered version of A. C. Aitken's "Twelves and Tens." - Remastered version of Ralph Beard's Esperanto disposition on dozenalism, "Antipatio al Aritmetiko." - A completely updated exposition of Tom Pendlebury's landmark TGM dozenal metric system. - Social networking links, both for sharing and for tapping into the DSA's network. - New digital membership forms, both web-based and fillable pdf. - A complete search fuction. - The ability to pay dues entirely online, available for any registered member. Go ahead and explore! You're sure to find the same great resources you've always known from dozenal.org, plus some helpful new additions, as well. Please, apply for a user account if you are a DSA member; this is an easy process, and will enable you to pay your dues online (no more sending in checks, unless you wish), as well as access some member-only materials we have available. Click on "Login" at the new website, then on "I want to create an account," and you'll be on your way. ============================================================ = BACKMATTER = ============================================================ _The DSA Newscast_ is a production of the Dozenal Society of America. If you have received this publication in error, or otherwise do not wish to receive it anymore, please unscribe by mailing a message containing the string "UNSUBSCRIBE DSA NEWSCAST", exactly as typed, in its body, to the Reply-To address of this message. For questions, comments, submissions, or other communication with the _Newscast_, please write to: newscast@dozenal.org