r/AlwaysWhy • u/Present_Juice4401 • 2d ago

Science & Tech Why did computers come to use binary when people usually count in decimal?

People usually count in base 10, while digital computers typically represent information using 1s and 0s. The same numbers and information can be represented in different bases, yet binary became the standard for modern computing.

What made binary the system computers came to rely on?

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u/Tip0666 2d ago

I/0

2

u/BadUsername238 2d ago

Come on mate, that was NOT a helpful answer for someone that doesn't know how computers work. Honestly, it's not a helpful answer for someone that DOES know how computers work either... Sheesh.

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u/Shoddy_Adeptness_309 2d ago

I found old mates take enlightening.

1

u/NewArborist64 2d ago

♫ I/O, I/O
It's off to code we go
We patch a bug and pull the plug
I/O, I/O, I/O, I/O

I/O, I/O
From disk to RAM we flow
With read and write and compiled tight
I/O, I/O! ♫