Math and Science: Universal Math Concepts Through Alien Perspectives

Mathematics is often called the universal language in math and science—a truth that transcends cultures, species, and even planets. But is that really the case?

In Battlefield Earth, L. Ron Hubbard’s epic science fiction novel, the towering, oppressive Psychlos operate on a base-11 numerical system. Why? Because they have eleven fingers—an extra digit shifts their entire way of counting.

This isn’t just a fun sci-fi detail—it raises a much bigger question. Is math truly universal, or is it shaped by the beings who use it? Would an alien race with a different biology see numbers the same way we do?

Math and Biology: Counting Fingers—Or Tentacles?

Mathematics may feel absolute, but number systems are anything but.

Humans use base-10 math, counting from 0-9 before rolling over to 10. Why? Because we have ten fingers. It’s such a fundamental part of our world that we rarely question it.

But across the universe, different species could have different numerical bases due to their biology, environment, or cognitive perception.

• Binary (Base-2): Used in computing, with only 0s and 1s.
• Base-6: It would make sense for a species with three fingers per hand.
• Base-11 (Psychlos): One extra finger = one extra number before rolling over.
• Base-15: A creature with three hands of five fingers each might naturally use this system.

Would a species with tentacles instead of fingers count the same way? Could some beings have evolved without a need to count discrete objects at all?

Science fiction has addressed this idea:

• The Twilight Zone depicted a Venusian with 15 fingers, suggesting a base-15 counting system.
• Marvel’s Nightcrawler has three fingers per hand—could he do math in base-6?
• Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke), where the last line, “The Ramans do everything in threes,” suggests a base-3 math system.

If an alien species saw numbers completely differently, would we be able to communicate with them?

Math Across Cultures: Did We All Evolve to See Numbers the Same Way?

On Earth, humans have used widely different numerical bases throughout history:

• Sumerians (Base-60): Still seen in how we measure time (60 minutes, 60 seconds) and angles (360°).
• Mayan Mathematics (Base-20): Likely due to counting fingers and toes.
• Chinese & Indian Mathematicians (Early Zero Use): Developed the modern positional system, where the value of a digit is determined by its position within the number.

These different systems show that number bases aren’t universal, even within the human species. Could an advanced alien race have an entirely different perception of math?

From Science Fiction to Science Fact: When Sci-Fi Math Becomes Reality

Mathematics in science fiction has often anticipated real-world breakthroughs. Examples include:

• Alan Turing & Cryptography: Turing’s work inspired modern computing and encryption, similar to sci-fi concepts of mathematical ciphers in alien communication.
• Mathematical SETI Signals: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is a scientific effort to detect signs of alien life, often through radio signals or optical data. Scientists believe aliens might use prime numbers or geometric patterns to send messages, assuming mathematics is a universal language.
• Tesseracts & 4D Math: The novel Flatland helped inspire modern theories of higher-dimensional spaces and string theory.
• Quantum Cryptography: A field similar to sci-fi’s complex encryption-based intelligence networks.

Some sci-fi concepts may still be ahead of their time. For example, an advanced civilization could have mathematical tools we haven’t conceived yet.

The Ultimate Question: Is Math Discovered or Invented?

This brings us back to the biggest question of all:

Is math an objective truth that exists independently of us, or is it simply a tool we created to describe our reality?

If math is universal, then the Psychlos, the Sumerians, and intergalactic civilizations should all recognize prime numbers, the Fibonacci sequence¹, and the Pythagorean theorem².

But if math is a human invention, our entire understanding of the universe is one possible framework among many.

Would a species without the need to count—perhaps beings who perceive the universe in waves or fractals rather than discrete numbers—even develop math as we know it?

The Answer May Be in How We Choose to Count

Next time you look at your fingers and count, think about this: if you had six fingers per hand, your math would be completely different.

If you had three hands, your equations would change.

And if you were a Psychlo, your base-11 math would feel as natural to you as our base-10 does to us now.

So, is math a universal truth, or is it just a tool shaped by those who use it?

Perhaps the answer isn’t in the numbers.

It’s in how we choose to count.