Chapter 1
The ancient roots of two choices
Chapter 2
The physical magic of the transistor
Chapter 3
Translating our world into bits
Chapter 4
The logic that thinks
Ch 1 · The ancient roots of two choices
007skaty The Chandaḥśāstra classified poetic syllables into laghu and guru sounds, mapping binary states and combinatorics long before modern computers
Quiz
Which mathematical structure, later named after a French mathematician, did Pingala describe to count syllable combinations?
Quiz
What did the ancient Indian scholar Pingala use to represent the two states of his binary-like system?
Fun Fact
Ancient computer code: Long before modern computers, 17th-century philosopher Francis Bacon used a 5-bit binary code to hide secret messages inside books using two different font styles!
007skaty Broken yin lines represent zero, pairing with solid yang lines to code cosmic states
Quiz
In the binary philosophy of the ancient Chinese I Ching, what does a solid line represent?
Quiz
How many unique hexagrams can be formed in the I Ching using combinations of six yin and yang lines?
Glossary
binary (noun)
A system of numerical notation that uses the base two and is represented by the digits zero and one. In 1701, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz mapped this system to hexagrams in the ancient Chinese I Ching.
A system of numerical notation that uses the base two and is represented by the digits zero and one. In 1701, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz mapped this system to hexagrams in the ancient Chinese I Ching.
BETA
007skaty Match zeros and ones to learn how Leibniz saw binary as spiritual creation.
Quiz
Which historical text did Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz study that helped him refine his ideas on binary arithmetic?
Quiz
In which year did Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz publish his formal system of binary arithmetic?
007skaty Bacon's Secret Bilateral Cipher
We are hiding secret letters in the typeface using zero and one
Quiz
What steganographic trick did Francis Bacon use to physically hide his 'A' and 'B' codes in printed books?