Binary and Decimals

To convert 110010101 to decimal I first have to separate each position and define them by the base of 2:

1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
2^8 2^7 2^6 2^5 2^4 2^3 2^2 2^1 2^0

Then, where ever there is a one, I use the 2^n below it, and add them all together:

256 + 128 + 0 + 0 + 16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1 = 405

110010101 = 405

Next, I must convert 529 into Binary. So Im going to map it out like before, just using the powers of 2, starting arbitrarily from 2^9, just to go another step just in case:

2^9 2^8 2^7 2^6 2^5 2^4 2^3 2^2 2^1 2^0
512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

Now, using these numbers, 529 can be made from adding 512+16+1, so the Binary representation will be 1000010001

529 = 1000010001

The difference between positional and non-positional number systems is the following:

A Positional Number System is one where the position of a number is related to the next by a constant multiplier. For example, in decimal the multiplier, or base, is ten. That is to say, the first position is represented by 10^0, the next 10^1, etc etc.

A Non-Positional Number system is one where the number of symbols represent the number. For example, say the smbol is *, in a Non-Positional Number System, * = 1, **=2, ***=3, and so on.

Global Swarming

Simple rules do seem to beget complex results when iterated over and over again. A honeycomb would not be so complex without so many bees, all at once, following their seemingly simple rules. It makes sense that the same concept could work to track consumer trends. Some of these other things, like a road that works like the Internet, honestly, seem very unlikely. That would be very...I don't know, awkward, for people are always on the road, and if it were to change while people were on it...it would cause all sorts of problems. I don't much understand what Clark was saying about search engines...kind of confusing, not much to say on that then.

UNIX

I learned a few things about UNIX last lab:
1. The calender 'cal' function seems usefull enough, though I dont know what you can do with it aside see an unmarked calender, which is somewhat like the calender and clock on the bottom right corner in Windows.
2. The 'mkdir' command seems to be a lot like making a new folder in Windows.
3. The 'more' function can only, in my mind, be compared to scrolling in a file thats too long.
and 4. Also, the 'finger' command seems a lot like usiing the internet to find someone's profile, such as a blog.