Comment by fragmede
2 years ago
> In fact I'd argue that they are the second-biggest computational optimization in use today, with only positional notation being a bigger deal
For the sake of argument, I think representing numbers in binary is the most fundamental optimization in use today.
You're arguing that positional notation using a specific base is more fundamental than the concept of positional notation itself?
Although I agree that base 2 is a great pick, of course, for many reasons. So perhaps we should put binary in second place, and logarithms in third.
yeah. because positional notation is a general mathematical concept, and it's only in practical application that its power is realized. binary is the most efficient base for computation with the technology we have at hand. positional notation exists for any/every base, but binary is the foundation optimization in practice.
if I were to argue it, that is. In reality they're all really important and it's not like there's a twisted math genie that's forcing us to choose one or the other. I felt like pointing out that chosing base two is also a very important, fundamental optimization decision because it's lead us to the world we have today.