Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

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We should count in base four (feddit.nu)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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We have basic words for the numbers zero to three, so why not use them to count?

None (0)
Single (1)
pair (2)
Multiple (3+ but we'll use it as three)

So with those "digits" we can construct some numbers:

Single
pair
Multiple
Single nothing
Single single
Single pair
Single multiple
Pair of nothing
Pair of singels
Pair of pairs

And of course we can construct bigger numbers like:
42 = 4²×2+4¹×2+4⁰×2 = pair of pairs of pairs
128 = 4³×2 = pair of absolute complete nothinges For this last one I just use some adjectives to repeat the "nothing" as it looks really weird with multiple nothing in a row.

The distance between Stockholm and Gothenburg is a single multiple of none multiple multiples

Could I have a single multiple of bananas please?

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (9 children)

Lower bases like base-2 and base-4 are more efficient in some ways because they use fewer symbols, but with the tradeoff that the numbers get longer. e.g. 13033 vs 499. Most computers count in base-2, but ssds actually count in base-8, as it's the most efficient way to store data on the kind of flash storage that they use. Honestly, for humans it probably matters more to have easy division, like with base-12, base-60, and base-360, than it does to have writing efficiency. Bases using square numbers, like base-4, base-8, and base-16 are convenient for computer scientists though, since they convert easily into base-2.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

I think you meant "powers of two" not "square numbers" near the end there

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