Deciphering Phyrexian: New number system!

[@gregconen]

English actually does use two numbering systems, because we also have Roman numerals! Of course, they're much less common than Arabic numerals now, so we don't necessarily think of them as an alternate numbering system. But they're the original numbering system for English, which used them until, like the Chinese, English speakers adopted Arabic numerals because they're so convenient to use.

[@ozymandiasultor9480]

Yes, roman numerals are still used for some things, but the thing with Roman numerals is that they are not made for math. One can do the basic operations +,-,%,*, but even that will be hard. And, there is a problem, how will you write fractions with Roman numerals? Well, they had a system, but it was not connected with their numerals. They had to use fractions, they had trading, markets, and math was developed, but they had a different way. Here is the video that explains how they did that....kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpDSXqOenqt3hLs

[@HighlyEntropicMind]

How could I forget about Roman numerals?

[@alexanderficken9354]

Very cool! I deciphered them separately and had a great time doing it, and my symbols were a little different, but we got the same results, and we can now count in phyrexian!

[@daviegourevitch]

Wow! I love the comparison to real-world languages that use multiple different numeric systems. I honestly thought that this was simply an oversight by wizards, but your explanation is very compelling

[@BurningInquiry]

Hey! Thanks for the credit for the photos of the dice. I also sort of noticed that as the numerals go up the number of strokes used in the symbols of each quadrant set also increase. 0-3 have one stroke (it’s not a triangle per se!), 4-7 have 2 strokes (the first going up and one new one going down), 8-11 have 3 and 12-15 have 4.

[@alexanderficken9354]

That's how I see it. 1, 2, and 3 also seem to have unique symbols

[@BurningInquiry]

@@alexanderficken9354 that’s the thing. 0-3 all use that one stroke as a symbol. It’s actually a pretty easy device to remember the base-16 of it all through, as long as you know to start at the NE quadrant and go counterclockwise. At this point I think I could probably remember this well enough to write basic numbers in Phyrexia, although I probably wouldn’t be able to do much calculation above 63 without sweating a lil bit lol

[@alexanderficken9354]

@@BurningInquiry ah, I guess only the number 1 had a unique symbol. A hook on the right of a horizontal line. Seems like 1 is different if it is by itself, following the digit rules otherwise

[@dravera2284]

I'm in school for mechanical engineering rn. Give it 2-3 years, when I have a job, I'm gonna support this through patreon. These videos are so awesome to me and I can't believe your channel doesn't get more attention. You are a man dedicated to your passions. depression is looking to haunt people like that. Just don't give up.

[@LincAus]

In-universe, it could be that both Dominiarians and Phyrexians use an older root number system from the Thran and that system is equivalent to the English number system.

[@BurningInquiry]

I appreciate the theory of linguistic/numeric development here. From a lore perspective I don’t think we know if Old Phyrexia’s creator ever visited Dominaria much less was originally from there, and he would’ve probably adopted his own native language and numerical systems before creating a plane of existence to apply it to (though that’s speculation). However it feels like a safe bet and thus entirely plausible.

[@haeffound]

@@BurningInquiry Old Phyrexia creator way Daddy Yawgmoth, litteraly a Thran from Dominaria.

[@BurningInquiry]

@@haeffound no. In the novel The Thran by J Robert King, Dyfed, a Planeswalker (pre-Mending) showed Yawgmoth a tour of the old Phyrexia, its creator dead in its core. This is stuff that’s a Google search away. (By the way the creator is yet unnamed but is described as a humanoid Planeswalker who often took the form of a dragon. Yawgmoth was and definitely never became a Planeswalker until he became a death cloud as of the novel Apocalypse, also by King, and even that doesn’t count as planeswalking.)

[@epikreaper19]

Hey, did you ever see rhe phyrexian on the test card yawgmoths testimate? Ive got around a sentence done as far as how it is in IPA format, but it seems interesting and seems like its actually written as well, the testimate of yawgmoth.

[@Xenozfan2]

One possibility for why they use different systems (beyond ease of comprehension for players and "because it's cool") is concrete or static vs conceptual. Cards in hand, power and toughness, amounts of life, those are all "static" because there's a direct link between the number and what it represents. However, your life total is conceptual: it's unreferenced so it's an abstract number; think 2+2. 2 what? *shrugs* The die is literally just a representation of an abstract number. Not sure if I did that justice, but just some quick thoughts.

[@HighlyEntropicMind]

Oddly enough, there is a word in Phyrexian that is used before numbers, life life total and cards in hand, but not power and toughness, so that may be related to this

[@olivervan7265]

CONGRATULATIONS ON 10k 🎉 (Pls foot reveal)

[@paulbryan5632]

I wonder, how would you write a suffix in phyrexian? Example; how would I write, "the 3rd" in someone's name, or something like, " the 3rd person" when explaining a story, or giving information? don't know if this is something that has already been explained, but I'm genuinely curious. 🤔

[@algorithmgeneratedanimegir1286]

You probably can't. Lots of languages have different ways of communicating the same things, like how in Latin context is a crutch for basically everything and you just have to understand what the person you are talking to is saying. Phrexian is a terrible language and nobody would ever write like this.

[@haeffound]

European languages use 2 scripts; arabic and roman numbers, even if they are both 10-base, still different numerology systems. And we have lots of bases. A years is 12 months. Months has differents bases for days, days are 24-base, Hours are 60 and so on. Circle. Circle can be 360-base in degree or 400 in radiant. Same circle, different base of unit. And we are using lots of different bases all the time without even knowing it, that’s cool to think about. Addendum: To use a 3-base and 4-base for thing so closely related must be mind-blowing. And so little differences! Why 3 and 4? Why not 5 like a hand, or 10, or even the 20 from the Maya?! Why damn 3 and 4!!

[@brandonanderson8516]

Hey do you plan to do an updated how to write your name in Phyrexian?

[@HighlyEntropicMind]

No, the ending of the Phyrexian storyline was so bad it didn't make me angry, it made me apathetic

[@GlaDurDeaD]

So, since IPV6 is a hexadecimal based system I can use Phyrexian to show my IP?

[@tybaltiastafford8941]

2 gross 3 dozen 11 eggs, anyone? Alternatively, 335 eggs

[@isaacgoodman1972]

You have the facts right when it comes to invasion creating different number systems, but I think your conclusions are incorrect. Phyrexia originates on dominaria, so it would be likely to use dominarian numbers. The myr however are native to mirrodin, of course mirrodin was created by Karn who was created by a dominarian planeswalker, so of course he could have taught the myr dominarian numbers, but it feels like a longer stretch. The myr are robots, they are very likely to natively understand hexidecimals. Phyrexia seeks to reach perfection by assimilating everything it comes into contact with, so I don't think it's unlikely that as the phyrexian oil seeped into mirrodin and began to compleat the myr, it adopted the base 16 number system, because its simpler and more efficient. Even if you're not convinced it's more likely, I bet it sounds more interesting. Given the wide ranging effects of march of the machines I bet the phyrexian hivemind was attempting to integrate languages and number systems from all across the multiverse. What becomes codified as official phyrexian script and what sticks out awkwardly like the dominarian numerals is probably determined by what is more "perfect" from the phyrexian perspective, rather than what follows tradition.

[@Patrick_Bard]

I think you are too optimistic thinking that those cards use hindu-arabic numbers for a reason. It would be very cool if it were the case, but I think Wizards simply didn't developed the number system yet.

[@t1nytim]

That was my exact thinking, it feels like it is more likely a retcon than anything. Would it be cool if there was a cultural explanation for multiple numbering systems, certainly. But I'm also not aware of any evidence that that's the case either, and so retcon feels like the simple answer.

[@derHexenhammer]

There is a phyrexian cipher on the mtg website

[@BurningInquiry]

Yeah but it currently doesn’t include numbers and that’s why this video is necessary

[@Stopinvadingmyhardware]

No way to get rid of poison counters? Then , it’s a broken mechanic.