Village books

The binary base, on the contrary, is natural, real, simple,
and accords with the tendency of the mind to simplify, to
individualize. In business, who ever thinks of a half as
two-fourths, or three-sixths, much less as two-and-a-half-fifths,
or three-and-a-half-sevenths? For division by two produces a half
at one operation; but with any other divisor, the reduction is too
great, and must be followed by multiplication. Think of calling
a half five-tenths, a quarter twenty-five-hundredths, an eighth
one-hundred-and-twenty-five-thousandths! Arithmetic is seldom used as a
plaything. It generally comes into use when the mind is too much
occupied for sporting. Consequently, the smallest divisor that will
serve the purpose is always preferred. A calculation is an appendage to
a mercantile transaction, not a part of the transaction itself; it is,
indeed, a hindrance, and in large business is performed by a distinct
person. But even with him, simplicity, because necessary to speed, is
second in merit only to correctness.
The binary base is not only simple, it is real.


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