Mathematics - an often overlooked discipline essential for the efficient running of any country. A dicipline whose practitioners are sadly undervalued and seldom paid.

Mathematics in Trollsylvania

Trollsylvania was late in coming to mathematics, but when it arrived in the kingdom like all new things it was taken to with great enthusiasm. It was only much later that it was realized that it was not the most useful of mathematical systems - base 12 being somewhat unwieldy and completely out of step with the surrounding kingdoms. (What more can you expect when you get when you buy your mathematics second hand from a passing itinerant astrologer?)

Still base 12 is what we have and base 12 is what we use. This means that we have two extra digits, (or toeits for those only endowed with the usual ten) that are unknown outside the kingdom. The numbers run from 1 to 9, and then X and F. The 'X' from the Romans and the 'F' from the final letter in twelve provided you spell it incorrectly.

Under this system the decimal point (or twelfimal point) is not recommended and has been banned by Royal Decree, though some are rumoured to have been smuggled into the kingdom by the more fanatical mathematicians from the college.

Of late there has been a move towards the decimal system as practiced throughout the rest of the world, but as with anything new this is held with suspicion and resistance to change is strong.

This has lead to a division between the arithmatists and the multiplists. The former have abbandoned multiplication and division in favour of the purer addition and subtraction. While the latter have not.

A compromise has been suggested, involving alternating from one system to the other. So units would come in tens, as would hundreds and tens of thousands, while tens and thousands would be counted in dozens. This would, it is admitted make life dificult, but arithmeticly it would be a joy.