Page 254, the order of the largest of the exceptional finite simple groups, the
monster, is given as a number divisible by
, that is, it has nine trailing zeros. Seems kind of strange that as humans we have ten fingers, so we have a base 10 number system, so we consider one billion a special number, and this monster happens to fall so evenly on that boundary of a billion. However, if we evolved with 12 fingers, and had a base 12 number system, the monster would end in 20 zeros. (
) Yes? So maybe it is not as strange as it first looks.
