Lesson 9: History of the Binary System

Everything that you see on a computer (including this slide) is made up of many different combinations of 0s and 1s. Although it appears random to us, binary type depends on a base-two number system. What this means is that binary code uses only two numbers, "0" and "1”. The decimal system is known as a base-ten system.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German mathematician and philosopher, devised the binary number system in the 17th century. Leibniz constructed a method that employed just the binary digits 0 and 1 for mathematical operations. “These operations are so simple that we shall have never had to guess or use experimentation, as we must in regular division," he is supposed to have claimed of his binary method. “We also don't need to memorize anything.“

The binary format of 0 and 1 was used in Leibniz's binary system to represent all numbers in the decimal number system. Leibniz shunned multiplication tables in favour of straightforward calculating principles. He is referred to as the "Father of Binary Code" because he invented the present binary number system that is used throughout all modern computers.

The binary system, like the decimal system, is used for counting but has applications other than counting. Binary is best known for its use in computers. Each “bit” (storage module) can represent one of two values: 1 or 0. This is similar to a lever. Creating a computer with decimal numbers is analogous to dialling. Levers are much simpler and take up less room. Binary is much easier to use than decimal, making it far easier for computers to process and store data. Here is one way to look at it. In a computer, binary is equivalent to asking a "yes or no" question, whereas decimal is equivalent to asking a "yeah of course, or somewhat so, or really objectively speaking, or even a little, yes, or still hardly yes, but rather just hardly, no or a small no, but also kind of no mostly, or no" question. As you can see, answering a "yes or no" question is much easier. To summarise, binary is used in computer systems because it is the simplest way of which we are aware of storing and using data.

• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz devised the binary number system in the 17th century.
• Leibniz constructed a method that employed just the binary digits 0 and 1 for mathematical operations in his paper “de l'Arithmétique Binaire”.
• The binary format of 0 and 1 was employed in Leibniz's binary system to represent all numbers in the decimal number system.
• Everything you see on a computer (including this slide) is made up of many different combinations of 0s and 1s