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  • $\begingroup$ This is a weird and false history. Counting from 1 still exists because it is useful in many contexts. The question you are responding to is about why counting from zero is useful in this context. $\endgroup$ Commented May 4, 2022 at 22:48
  • $\begingroup$ Which exact fact is false @BenI.? You don't say. Counting from zero is useful in any context, Intelpedia gives many examples unrelated to computers. $\endgroup$ Commented May 4, 2022 at 23:08
  • $\begingroup$ The second article you linked to makes one generalized mention of the problems with zero-based numbering, though since it's an article about the benefits, it isn't a surprise that it doesn't speak more to it. Zero-based counting is excellent for distances (such as arrays) and its analogs, but disallows the ordinal and cardinal count to match. If you have index zero, you now have one element, and that mismatch is permanent. And if you have zero elements, then the question of index becomes undefined.... $\endgroup$ Commented May 5, 2022 at 2:58
  • $\begingroup$ ... Sometimes we want distance measuring, sometimes we want ordinal and cardinal to match, such as when we are counting eggs in an egg container. Both systems have their use and their place. $\endgroup$ Commented May 5, 2022 at 3:00
  • $\begingroup$ You intimate a history in which habit, not clear usefulness, is the reason that standard counting is still around, and it's simply not true. Every school in the world teaches traditional counting to small children, and children everywhere learn that most people have ten fingers, and learn how to count them so that they arrive at that number. It's a big benefit, and should not be discounted. $\endgroup$ Commented May 5, 2022 at 3:05