In the past, experts developed calculating machines that worked with three digits, a ternary system, that they hoped would allow for more efficient information processing. In principle, any number ...

But for numbers 20 through 80, they used a binary system, with separate, one-word terms for 20, 40 and 80. For really large numbers, they used powers of 10 up to at least 10 million.

But for numbers 20 through 80, they used a binary system, with separate, one-word terms for 20, 40 and 80. For really large numbers, they used powers of 10 up to at least 10 million.

Leibniz pointed out in 1703 that to do simple arithmetic in binary, such as addition and multiplication, you don’t need to memorize such rules as 5 + 4 = 9, or 6 × 7 = 42. Instead, you need ...

In principle, any number can be represented by any number system, whether the latter be base 10, base 60, base 3 or base 2. The math works perfectly in each case. In the usual decimal system, the ...

Binary arithmetic, the basis of all virtually digital computation today, is usually said to have been invented at the start of the eighteenth century by the German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz.