• bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    “binary digits” is an oxymoron. “Digit” implies decimal counting.

    • Poach@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Is that why all digital computers use binary?

      This may actually be an example of where a word’s meaning had changed over time. Not sure of the etymology.

      Some random dictionary has “one of the elements that combine to form numbers in a system other than the decimal system” as one of the definitions.

      I spent way too long trying to prove something there…

      • bdonvrA
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        3 months ago

        I think it’s because they use discrete numbers instead of varying voltages in analog systems. There have been digital computers built that use base 3.