# Is it is or is it ain't - Leibniz and I Ching **URL:** \ **Category:** Scuttlebutt\ **Created:** [March 1, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779 "2019-03-01T20:41:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/1 "2019-03-01T20:41:54Z")
There was a discussion here about the value of a liberal arts education vs a narrow technical one. [According to this article](https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/what-is-the-book-of-changes-i-ching) the mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is said to have invented the binary number system based on reading the 5000 year old I Ching, also known as the Book of Changes. “Is it is or is it ain’t” (one or zero) comes from the Alan Watts video at the linked article. Leibniz -[EXPLANATION OF BINARY ARITHMETIC](http://www.leibniz-translations.com/binary.htm) > And all these operations are so easy that there would never be any need to guess or try out anything, as has to be done in ordinary division. There would no longer be any need to learn anything by heart, as has to be done in ordinary reckoning, where one has to know, for example, that 6 and 7 taken together make 13, and that 5 multiplied by 3 gives 15, in accordance with the Table of one times one is one, which is called Pythagorean.[1](http://www.leibniz-translations.com/binary.htm#note1) But here, all of that is found and proved from the source, as is clear in the preceding examples under the signs ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/2X/b/bf36f27badd787af41263e4dbb9203ea011f2e88.jpeg) and ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/2X/8/89f080b714489f98c8970df1cb336efdf7631c34.jpeg) . > However I am not in any way recommending this way of counting in order to introduce it in place of the ordinary practice of counting by ten. For, aside from the fact that we are accustomed to this, we have no need to learn what we have already learned by heart. The practice of counting by ten is shorter and the numbers not as long. And if we were accustomed to proceed by twelves or sixteens, there would be even more of an advantage. ---
**Author:** ![portofdc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@portofdc](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/portofdc)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/2 "2019-03-01T23:09:09Z")
There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don’t. ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/3 "2019-03-01T23:23:26Z")
Of course even with easy operations doing arithmetic in binary would be unbearably tedious for humans. Imagine working with numbers to four decimal places? That would be ten bits just for the fractional part. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/4 "2019-03-01T23:47:59Z")
![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/2X/1/179786bc17606fca918db356884de6b6f3f5dcca.png) Yes, it would get tedious, you’d have to invent some device to do it for you. Some sort of device that could follow a few very simple rules, many times. ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/5 "2019-03-01T23:57:43Z")
You could of course build that device with ten fingers to count on, and it’s been done. But two-state devices are so much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/6 "2019-03-02T00:02:38Z")
I see Leibniz invented a [step reckoner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepped_reckoner) in 1672. ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/2X/b/bcbbe98f9061cb632e7bfd69873feed3320ce6ff.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/2X/b/bcbbe98f9061cb632e7bfd69873feed3320ce6ff.jpeg) > The **step reckoner** (or **stepped reckoner** ) was a [digital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_data) [mechanical calculator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_calculator) invented by the German mathematician [Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz) around 1672 and completed in 1694.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepped_reckoner#cite_note-Meyer1925-1) The name comes from the translation of the German term for its operating mechanism, _Staffelwalze_ , meaning ‘stepped drum’. It was the first calculator that could perform all four [arithmetic operations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_operations).[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepped_reckoner#cite_note-Beeson2004-2) ---
**Author:** ![Urs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/958977/32.png) [@Urs](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Urs)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/7 "2019-03-02T00:49:47Z")
I used the Curta ‘pepper mill’ around 1960, a descendant of Leibniz’s stepped reckoner. It was much more precise than the then used slide rule \>\>\> > **[Curta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta)** > > The Curta is a small mechanical calculator developed by Curt Herzstark. The Curta's design is a descendant of Gottfried Leibniz's Stepped Reckoner and Charles Thomas's Arithmometer, accumulating values on cogs, which are added or complemented by a stepped drum mechanism. It has an extremely compact design: a small cylinder that fits in the palm of the hand. > Curtas were considered the best portable calculators available until they were displaced by electronic calculators in the 1970s. > The Curta ... ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/8 "2019-03-02T01:03:35Z")
Curiously, the Curta calculators cost about the same now (in nominal dollars, not constant ones) as they did new. ---
**Author:** ![c.captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/c.captain/32/807_2.png) [@c.captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/c.captain)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/9 "2019-03-02T02:21:24Z")
In the name of humanity…why is this a tread in a maritime forum? Maybe we should discuss computing sight reductions using only Roman numerals? When did the geeks take over here? ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/10 "2019-03-02T02:30:48Z")
# scuttlebutt [skuht-l-buht] EXAMPLES|WORD ORIGIN [SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scuttlebutt ON THESAURUS.COM](https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/scuttlebutt) ### noun Nautical . 1. an open cask of drinking water. 2. a drinking fountain for use by the crew of a vessel. Informal . rumor or gossip. ---
**Author:** ![Emrobu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/emrobu/32/6696_2.png) [@Emrobu](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Emrobu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/11 "2019-03-02T02:35:52Z")
> [@c.captain](#): > > In the name of humanity…why is this a tread in a maritime forum? Maybe we should discuss computing sight reductions using only Roman numerals? > > When did the geeks take over here? [1910](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide-Predicting_Machine_No._2) or there abouts. ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/12 "2019-03-02T02:57:29Z")
> [@Emrobu](#): > > [1910](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide-Predicting_Machine_No._2) or there abouts. 😍 ---
**Author:** ![c.captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/c.captain/32/807_2.png) [@c.captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/c.captain)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/13 "2019-03-02T03:57:29Z")
Scuttlebutt…Shmuttlebutt! Let’s try to keep the geekery here to a minimum…huh? ---
**Author:** ![Emrobu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/emrobu/32/6696_2.png) [@Emrobu](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Emrobu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/14 "2019-03-02T04:13:23Z")
Maybe instead of reading threads that don’t interest you, you could read a book. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/15 "2019-03-02T12:55:58Z")
> [@c.captain](#): > > When did the geeks take over here? Prolly around the same time as cranky pissed off old dudes started ranting. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/17 "2019-03-02T15:42:35Z")
> [@c.captain](#): > > Maybe we should discuss computing sight reductions using only Roman numerals? Obviously not practical, Roman Numerals don’t have a zero, the system has an “is” but it doesn’t have an “ain’t”. Being and nothingness, got to have both. ---
**Author:** ![KPChief](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kpchief/32/26_2.png) [@KPChief](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/KPChief)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/is-it-is-or-is-it-aint-leibniz-and-i-ching/50779/18 "2019-03-02T21:47:23Z")
> [@Kennebec\_Captain](#): > > Being and nothingness, got to have both. This is a pretty good read on the topic of nothingness. [https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Biography-Dangerous-Charles-Seife/dp/0140296476](https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Biography-Dangerous-Charles-Seife/dp/0140296476?tag=gcaptaincom-20)