Why Twelve?

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Why Twelve? – The Significance of the Number

by William Bezanson

Have you ever noticed how dominant the number 12 is? There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 inches per foot, 12 people on a jury, 12 grades in most school systems, 12 items in a dozen, and so on.

There are many other instances of the number 12 that are common in western civilization. Further, there are many remarkable mathematical properties of twelve that I have not mentioned. In addition, there are many instances of twelve in the Bible, which forms a cultural and mythological basis for western society.

Why is the number 12 so dominant in the world or at least in western culture? Why did humanity not pick the number 10 to be the dominant one, or 4, or 7, or 60, each of which could be supported for significance? What I am seeking is some unique property of twelve or of the abstract notion of twelveness that makes that specific number the only candidate for dominating among its peers. What makes twelve stand out?

What Elst Says About Twelve

These questions stayed on my back burner with the heat on low, but never turned off for many years. Then, along came Google. What a wonderful tool for research! I asked Google one day, “Why Twelve?”, and was led to a very satisfying answer. The top result was a paper with that title by the modern Belgian philosopher Koenraad Elst. What a thrill it was to find it!

Elst explains that the most natural way to divide a circle is into twelve equal parts. Most natural references that it is able to be divided without any external aids other than a compass and a straightedge ruler. These two tools were the only ones permitted by the classical Greek mathematicians. No calculations are permitted, no measuring, no protractors, nothing else.

Circles and the Number Twelve

First, Elst has us draw a circle, using a compass. Then, with the compass still set to the same radius as for that circle, draw another circle with its center anywhere on the circumference of the original circle. Next, using the two points where the circles intersect, draw two more circles, still with the same radius, and repeat that process using each point of intersection of circles with the original circles, so that you have six circles arranged symmetrically around the original circle.

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