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Modern Computers Are:
Modern computers are binary. They are built out of mechanisms that represent numbers as digits, just as the gears in our example do. However, those gears
represented decimal ("base-10") numbers. These
numbers are so familiar to us and so comfortable to us that it is difficult
for us to think of representing numbers any other way. Anthropologists
tell us that we are so comfortable with decimal numbers because we we
have ten fingers.
The mathematical concept of "nine" can be represented in a number of ways. We can represent the number "nine" by:
Decimal (base-10) numbers are merely a scheme of representation—that is, a way of "writing numbers." |
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If you encounter technical errors, contact rit@calvin.edu.
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