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If your goal is to get the following three concepts into the minds of a large group of people...
- Binary Arithmetic
- Boolean Algebra
- Hexadecimal Arithmetic
...In what order would you present the concepts ?
(That list is in alphabetical order to prevent any implied bias)
Why do you feel that your chosen sequence makes more sense than others ?
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Boolean algebra is probably the easiest for people to grasp, as you can use real world examples:
IF it_is_raining
WEAR waterproof
ELSE
WEAR t-shirt
ENDIF
Binary and HEX (or any other base) are especially challenging for people whose mathematical abilies may not be very high. I tried to explain both of those to someone once but they just could not get it.
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I hesitate to post a non-KSS counter-argument to your example.
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Base-12 -- with eggs. 12 eggs to a box, 12 boxes to a case...
Just don't grind them up.
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That's just gross.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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The order in which they came historically. That would be the preferred logical order, i believe. Will give an opportunity to provide a logical motivation to the next topic.
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Charles Petzold explains these in his fantastic book, Code: The Hidden Language of Computers[^] (now, 2nd updated edition)
Here's a helpful -- and free -- resource from the book --[^] really cool interactive code.
1. He explains Binary first using : 1 if by sea, 2 if by land.
(Yes, he explains that the absence of any lantern (off) would normally indicate a value but since no-light could happen in normal circumstances you have to use 2 lanterns).
He explains the entire on/off concept very clearly.
2. He then introduces George Bool and Boolean algebra
3. Then later he teaches Hex math.
I think his system of building on basics works very well.
if you haven't read his amazing book, I highly suggest it.
Great concepts explained simply.
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+5 for Petzold.
Great book. Also his Annotated Turing.
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Start with decimal notation using fully positional notation as opposed to something like Roman numerals which uses different symbols for powers of 10 but also has some positional rules. Give examples of arithmetic rules.
Then drop to octal, since it's easier to understand using less symbols - counting with just your fingers and not using the thumbs. More arithmetic examples.
Play around with a few other bases - duodecimal (base-12) or sexagesimal (base-60 - hours, minutes, seconds) - finally arriving at hexadecimal. More arithmetic...
Maybe show base-4 or move straight to binary. Show the same arithmetic rules apply even when there's only 2 symbols.
Show that any number in binary representation can be easily rewritten as hexadecimal or octal (and vice-versa) just by grouping/expanding the digits. Mention that, in computing, the term bit is a contraction of binary digit.
Introduce Boolean algebra as a separate topic using English-like examples for AND, OR and NOT.
Somewhere along the way, introduce De Morgan's Law - "NOT (A OR B)" gives the same results as "(NOT A) AND (NOT B)"
Finally, show that if TRUE is one and FALSE is zero, then AND is the same as multiplying in binary and only looking at the last digit and OR is addition.
You can then introduce logic gates and show how to build an adder circuit for 2 single bit numbers with a 2-bit output - least significant bit is OR, most significant/carry is AND but it can all be done with just AND/NOT or OR/NOT, so you only need one 2-input gate and an inverter (NOT).
Etc.
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C-P-User-3 wrote: If your goal is to get the following three concepts into the minds of a large group of people...
Then my goal would be to find a different goal because that isn't going to work.
Certainly I have seen programmers that can't figure even one of those out.
I would not want to try with a group of specialized university mathematics professors.
Perhaps university mathematics students since then still have generalized concepts in their head. But only the ones doing well in their class work.
C-P-User-3 wrote: Boolean Algebra
Not sure about the other two but I remember that this was an entire university semester long class that I took.
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I'd say binary first, since I recall teaching someone for their high school class ... after I had been out only a few years myself. (I was already programming by that time though I don't recall learning binary in HS).
Of course, you ground them first with decimal, and how it relates. (With a side trip to Octal)
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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Arithmetics:
Binary and Hex and this and that base is all the same. Only the base is different.
E.g. adding two numbers based on 2 or 16 or 10 following the same scheme.
Boolean Algebra:
This is a different from the above and needs to be explained seperately.
Here the operators are different. Operators like 'logical and', 'logical or', 'not', .... that are boolean operations and not arithmetic operators.
Why it is different
Let us have two boolean variables 'a' and 'b'. They can only have the values TRUE or FALSE.
One fundamental law in Boolean algebra is:
a AND b == NOT(NOT a OR NOT b) which is very different from arithmetics I think.
Same is valid for e.g.
a OR b == NOT(NOT a AND NOT b)
modified 50 mins ago.
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C-P-User-3 wrote: If your goal is to get the following three concepts into the minds of a large group of people...
Getting those concepts into the minds of a large group of people??, not gonna happen. You would rather forget about the order but think about the disorder you will cause.
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I am trying to get eggshells ground down to a flour which is fine enough in its powdered form to allow for regular cooking; particularly on a griddle top when mixed with milk and eggs and stuff
The home blender is just not good enough for this purpose; I have already ruined my second one and I'm not going to destroy any others.
I just spent four hours on thirty zillion websites, and apparently my best bet is something called a spice mill grinder.
There is an ocean of those things out there on the market. Interestingly enough, I never knew they existed.
Clueless nubee here: What am I looking for ? What do I need to be looking out for, i.e., in terms of stuff to avoid ?
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: I just spent one minute on Google and found:
Uhm, yeah, Try any of the methods of which those people are suggesting; and then try to use that powder for baking real food that you're going to put into your mouth and chew.
Been there, done that, and I'm looking for a spice grinder so that I don't repeat exactly what all those websites are trying to describe.
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C-P-User-3 wrote: try to use that powder for baking real food
Can't see any reason why I would want to do that.
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Some claim that it helps with bone loss.
But of course calcium tablets do exactly the same thing and more effectively since they are actually formulated for absorption.
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Why do you want to use egg shells? Never heard of that.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.
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Either a spice grinder or a wheat grinder.
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
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As far as I know there is no meaningful difference between a spice mill and a coffee grinder.
Check out my IoT graphics library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx
And my IoT UI/User Experience library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
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Now I want a roast beef grinder.
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You mean as a engineer?
Versus a marketing team? Because they would want to put it in a different box.
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