Computers think in binary. Every photo, song and database row underneath is just 1s and 0s. The conversion is one short algorithm.
Calculators do the heavy lifting, but knowing what is going on underneath is what saves you money — or stress — later. Computers think in binary. Every photo, song and database row underneath is just 1s and 0s. The conversion is one short algorithm.
Divide by 2, keep the remainder, repeat with quotient. Read remainders bottom up. 13 → 6 r1 → 3 r0 → 1 r1 → 0 r1 = 1101.
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024.
Hex is base 16 — each hex digit = 4 bits. Easier to read than long binary.
RGB colours, IP addresses, networking subnet masks, low-level programming, file sizes.
Why use binary? Electronic switches have two states (on/off). Binary maps directly to hardware.
What's a quantum bit? Can be 0, 1, or both — fundamentally different math, currently early-stage commercially.
The math is the easy part. Acting on what it tells you is where the real win lives.