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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 37
newbie
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OP
newbie
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 37 |
As the telephone/ascii queries have tapped a cache of teckie knowledge amongst verbivores, could someone please explain how to count in octal? Here is the puzzle: a two-handed alien counting with his fingers discovers that 15+5 = 22. How many fingers has the alien on each hand? Answer: 8 total, 4 on each hand. (15+5=22 in octal)
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
octal (base 8) representation uses the numbers 0 thru 7 and each "digit" represents sucessive powers of 8; thus,
127 (octal) = 7 x 8^0 (= 7)
+ 2 x 8^1 (= 16)
+ 1 x 8^2 (= 64) = 87 (decimal)
in your example, 5 + 15 = 22
translates to 5 + 13 = 18 in decimal
thinking about this in terms of successive powers of the base is transportable to binary, hexadecimal, base-13 or any other basis -- those of you familiar with Douglas Adam's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" will be comforted to know that 6 times 9 *does* equal 42... in base-13!
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Anna,
May I have some of whatever you took for your "tense"ion
headache, please?
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
I suppose I should be happy that you're not complaining about proctalgia (just to refocus on words).
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Does want to hazard a guess at Douglas Adams' reply when asked why he chose the number 42?
I'll leave you to stew for a couple of days while I am in foreign parts.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
oh, I know that Adams claims it was random (and mostly harmless)... he just doesn't want us to think that his subconscious works in base-13 -- which would explain much. 
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
>>I suppose I should be happy that you're not complaining about proctalgia (just to refocus on words).<< I am not afflicted with proctalgia, thank you; I don't expect to ever need the services of a proctologist.  I suppose you should be happy if you don't, either. However, your first post in this thread gave me rapid-onset acalculia. Darn--can't quite justify using acupuncture here!
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
>>Anna, May I have some of whatever you took for your "tense"ion headache, please? I'd be glad to share, Jackie, but I'm afraid we're gonna need something stronger here. 
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094 |
Tsuwm. . .just one question. . .
what??!?!!
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Another good question.
Why??!?!!
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