This is the method people like to promote alot on the internet. It's called binary, because it's very similar to the way that computers count. And it's based on using every possible combination of fingers being either up or down.



Counting range: 0 through 1023

Pros: Easy To learn, and Easy to count up.

Cons: Difficult to start with a large number, and takes some thinking to realize what number you're at, just by looking at your fingers. Requires you to flip the bird, with some numbers (like 18).



The basic idea is that each finger is the sum of all the previous fingers (in the order you put them up counting normally), plus one.

So, start with having all your fingers down. This is 0 Now, stick your pointer finger up on your left hand, and this is 1. So, naturally, your middle finger on your left hand will be worth two (it's the sum of your previous fingers [which happens to be just your pointer finger] plus 1) So, to ahve 2, you just have that middle finger up. Since it's worth 2, and your pointer finger's worth 1, you put them both up to get 3.

Next, of course, your ring finger is worth the sum of all the previous fingers (1+2=3) plus 1 (3+1=4) So it's worth four. You can now use these three fingers to count up to 7, so the pinky is worht 7+1. You can use these four fingers to count up to 15, so the thumb is worth 16.

You can continue doing this with your other hand, where the fingers are worth 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512. You may notice that the fingers are going up in powers of 2, but if you didn't notice that, then just ignore it.

Anyways, once you have all your fingers up, it will total up to 1023; that's the highest you can count.

