Things are binary because it an easier way to structure thoughts or decisions through discrete choices than spectrums. Its a complicated question to ask "what temperature should we set the...
Things are binary because it an easier way to structure thoughts or decisions through discrete choices than spectrums.
Its a complicated question to ask "what temperature should we set the thermostat to", but its a simpler question to ask "Are you COLD and want the temperature to go UP, or are you HOT and want the temperature to go DOWN".
When looking at the transistor example transistors also have a linear region where they access a continuous range of voltages. You can design a circuit to calculate some mathematical function that outputs a continuous voltage range instead of logic levels. This is analog computing. The reason we dont use this as much is that if you are using continuous variables, there is going to be a little bit of imprecision in each of those voltages, and this will create uncertainty in your final result. With binary signals, even if there is noise on your voltage levels its still easy to figure out the exact precise logic level you were going for.
On a more abstract level, the reason we use "binary thinking" in human thought is that its a structured way of thinking thats easier to reconcile with other peoples thoughts. If you can boil down your thought process to a bunch of YES/NO questions, its easier to compare with others and see exactly which points you are disagreeing on. If you are just thinking things through yourself then theres no problem engaging with all the nuances and minutiae, but its harder to filter all those thoughts through the medium of speech.
Even the term "non-binary" is binary thinking. Its asking are you part of this traditional male/female dichotomy or not? Within that label, theres a huge range of ways that a non-binary person might consider their identity. But its hard to condense all that complexity into a single term for brevity, so people choose to boil it down to one single digestible question.
Proof by contradiction: assume not everything is binary. Then we can sort everything in the universe into one of two categories: binary and not binary. This itself is a binary classification....
Proof by contradiction: assume not everything is binary. Then we can sort everything in the universe into one of two categories: binary and not binary. This itself is a binary classification. Therefore, everything is binary QED
I'm assuming this is tongue in cheek. But two notes: What you are actually stating there is a version of Zorn's Lemma. It's logically equivalent to the Axiom of Choice + Well-Ordering Theorem....
I'm assuming this is tongue in cheek. But two notes:
What you are actually stating there is a version of Zorn's Lemma. It's logically equivalent to the Axiom of Choice + Well-Ordering Theorem. Essentially that everything can be sorted into two boxes: binary things and non-binary things.
To prove everything is binary you need to show that the non-binary box is empty.
Very tongue in cheek :) . I actually did maths in university and learned Zorn's lemma, but am sorry to say I didn't think of that at all, this was just me being goofy.
Very tongue in cheek :) . I actually did maths in university and learned Zorn's lemma, but am sorry to say I didn't think of that at all, this was just me being goofy.
To add something of a historical dimension, there are theories in the ever-combative world of comparative religion that binary states might be a relatively recent tool humans have both discovered...
To add something of a historical dimension, there are theories in the ever-combative world of comparative religion that binary states might be a relatively recent tool humans have both discovered and invented.
It is theorized that animist deities and many of the ancient religious systems we are familiar with—such as the Hindu or classical Greek—contain gods that are neither good nor evil. They are more like us, with all the complexity and self-contradiction we possess. Nobody asks if Zeus is a good god or a bad god. He is merely power incarnate.
Some scholars point to the religion of Mithra (and a bit later the Zoroastrians) as basically inventing the idea of holy gods and cursed demons about 2600 years ago, as well as heaven and hell, dividing the world into concepts that can be entirely divorced from each other and placed along two ends of a spectrum.
Researchers in other fields point to anthropological evidence that many cultures, perhaps a plurality, throughout history viewed many things as a spectrum, including gender. Consider the two spirits traditions in many Native American cultures.
Distilling the world into binary components is immensely powerful, as we have seen over the last few thousand years, but it also oversimplifies and distorts the nuances of the world we actually live in.
Caveat: these theories remain theories and don’t necessarily represent scholarly consensus or the majority viewpoints of any number of academic fields. But I always found them compelling myself.
Watched the first few seconds and it's already full of errors? A nybble (thanks for the correction below) has 16 states and so can count up to 15, not 8. What am I missing?
Watched the first few seconds and it's already full of errors? A byte nybble (thanks for the correction below) has 16 states and so can count up to 15, not 8. What am I missing?
Haven’t watched the video but a byte is eight bits, so has 256 states, so can represent the numbers 0-255. EDIT: well that’s unsigned, you could also do -128 to 127, if you go for signed...
Haven’t watched the video but a byte is eight bits, so has 256 states, so can represent the numbers 0-255.
EDIT: well that’s unsigned, you could also do -128 to 127, if you go for signed two’s-complement, or some other range if you pick a funky system. But the point is it has 256 unique configurations.
They mean if you literally count each bit as 1 you can count up to 8, ignoring arrangement, and not referring to number of unique states. A moment later they explain you can get more values by...
They mean if you literally count each bit as 1 you can count up to 8, ignoring arrangement, and not referring to number of unique states. A moment later they explain you can get more values by treating each bit as a different power of two
But yes this isn't really an educational video on computer binary.
I'm aware, which is why I haven't chimed in till now. The details on how binary numerals work doesn't really have any bearing on their main point on human psychology. But There is a name for this:...
But yes this isn't really an educational video on computer binary.
I'm aware, which is why I haven't chimed in till now. The details on how binary numerals work doesn't really have any bearing on their main point on human psychology.
But
They mean if you literally count each bit as 1 you can count up to 8
There is a name for this: unary numerals. It is quite literally not binary. Similarly, a single transistor is not a memory cell, and you can't represent characters with only one bit each. That the author uses these words as such reveals that they're only using the tech-y jargon as a metaphor without really understanding it. Which is fine, I suppose, since those details don't have much bearing on their point.
I think a better entry into the post would have been to talk about information theory instead of computation. A bit is the fundamental unit of information. With many bits of information, you can express nuance and detail. As you remove nuance, you remove bits, and eventually you're left with only a single bit of information. Yes or no, in or out, friend or enemy.
To relate this back to the psychology of things, my guess is that groups of people have this tendency to remove (or ignore) nuance, thereby removing bits of information from their collective state. Then as a whole we trend toward these binary categorizations.
This was a really well-made video, both on a content and editing level, I really enjoyed it! I was a bit uncertain whether I would until I saw the trans sister, and then I was confident I'd enjoy...
This was a really well-made video, both on a content and editing level, I really enjoyed it! I was a bit uncertain whether I would until I saw the trans sister, and then I was confident I'd enjoy where it was going.
Also the creator's merch store has a bunch of cool stuff! While many of the shirt designs are making references to tech/programming, I particularly like this one with more of a linguistic bent.
I actually had no idea where to put it. I decided ~tech because it talks about bits and Elon Musk, but it is, of course, not really about tech. ~science is not a good match either, I think.
I actually had no idea where to put it. I decided ~tech because it talks about bits and Elon Musk, but it is, of course, not really about tech. ~science is not a good match either, I think.
Things are binary because it an easier way to structure thoughts or decisions through discrete choices than spectrums.
Its a complicated question to ask "what temperature should we set the thermostat to", but its a simpler question to ask "Are you COLD and want the temperature to go UP, or are you HOT and want the temperature to go DOWN".
When looking at the transistor example transistors also have a linear region where they access a continuous range of voltages. You can design a circuit to calculate some mathematical function that outputs a continuous voltage range instead of logic levels. This is analog computing. The reason we dont use this as much is that if you are using continuous variables, there is going to be a little bit of imprecision in each of those voltages, and this will create uncertainty in your final result. With binary signals, even if there is noise on your voltage levels its still easy to figure out the exact precise logic level you were going for.
On a more abstract level, the reason we use "binary thinking" in human thought is that its a structured way of thinking thats easier to reconcile with other peoples thoughts. If you can boil down your thought process to a bunch of YES/NO questions, its easier to compare with others and see exactly which points you are disagreeing on. If you are just thinking things through yourself then theres no problem engaging with all the nuances and minutiae, but its harder to filter all those thoughts through the medium of speech.
Even the term "non-binary" is binary thinking. Its asking are you part of this traditional male/female dichotomy or not? Within that label, theres a huge range of ways that a non-binary person might consider their identity. But its hard to condense all that complexity into a single term for brevity, so people choose to boil it down to one single digestible question.
Proof by contradiction: assume not everything is binary. Then we can sort everything in the universe into one of two categories: binary and not binary. This itself is a binary classification. Therefore, everything is binary QED
I'm assuming this is tongue in cheek. But two notes:
Very tongue in cheek :) . I actually did maths in university and learned Zorn's lemma, but am sorry to say I didn't think of that at all, this was just me being goofy.
You would have a hard time trying to address the items in the not binary category as binary, though.
I either will or won't have difficulty. QED x2
To add something of a historical dimension, there are theories in the ever-combative world of comparative religion that binary states might be a relatively recent tool humans have both discovered and invented.
It is theorized that animist deities and many of the ancient religious systems we are familiar with—such as the Hindu or classical Greek—contain gods that are neither good nor evil. They are more like us, with all the complexity and self-contradiction we possess. Nobody asks if Zeus is a good god or a bad god. He is merely power incarnate.
Some scholars point to the religion of Mithra (and a bit later the Zoroastrians) as basically inventing the idea of holy gods and cursed demons about 2600 years ago, as well as heaven and hell, dividing the world into concepts that can be entirely divorced from each other and placed along two ends of a spectrum.
Researchers in other fields point to anthropological evidence that many cultures, perhaps a plurality, throughout history viewed many things as a spectrum, including gender. Consider the two spirits traditions in many Native American cultures.
Distilling the world into binary components is immensely powerful, as we have seen over the last few thousand years, but it also oversimplifies and distorts the nuances of the world we actually live in.
Caveat: these theories remain theories and don’t necessarily represent scholarly consensus or the majority viewpoints of any number of academic fields. But I always found them compelling myself.
Watched the first few seconds and it's already full of errors? A
bytenybble (thanks for the correction below) has 16 states and so can count up to 15, not 8. What am I missing?Haven’t watched the video but a byte is eight bits, so has 256 states, so can represent the numbers 0-255.
EDIT: well that’s unsigned, you could also do -128 to 127, if you go for signed two’s-complement, or some other range if you pick a funky system. But the point is it has 256 unique configurations.
You're correct; I was considering the case of a nybble. Thanks.
Keep watching a bit longer. It is not an educational video, more of a humorous social commentary.
They mean if you literally count each bit as 1 you can count up to 8, ignoring arrangement, and not referring to number of unique states. A moment later they explain you can get more values by treating each bit as a different power of two
But yes this isn't really an educational video on computer binary.
I'm aware, which is why I haven't chimed in till now. The details on how binary numerals work doesn't really have any bearing on their main point on human psychology.
But
There is a name for this: unary numerals. It is quite literally not binary. Similarly, a single transistor is not a memory cell, and you can't represent characters with only one bit each. That the author uses these words as such reveals that they're only using the tech-y jargon as a metaphor without really understanding it. Which is fine, I suppose, since those details don't have much bearing on their point.
I think a better entry into the post would have been to talk about information theory instead of computation. A bit is the fundamental unit of information. With many bits of information, you can express nuance and detail. As you remove nuance, you remove bits, and eventually you're left with only a single bit of information. Yes or no, in or out, friend or enemy.
To relate this back to the psychology of things, my guess is that groups of people have this tendency to remove (or ignore) nuance, thereby removing bits of information from their collective state. Then as a whole we trend toward these binary categorizations.
This was a really well-made video, both on a content and editing level, I really enjoyed it! I was a bit uncertain whether I would until I saw the trans sister, and then I was confident I'd enjoy where it was going.
Also the creator's merch store has a bunch of cool stuff! While many of the shirt designs are making references to tech/programming, I particularly like this one with more of a linguistic bent.
Is this really ~tech..?edit; it's since been moved
I actually had no idea where to put it. I decided ~tech because it talks about bits and Elon Musk, but it is, of course, not really about tech. ~science is not a good match either, I think.