Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A binary view

A binary view leads to unity not duality

Although the binary counting system has received the appellation "binary" there is no 2 in that system: 1+1 becomes 10. Whenever a single addition is made place-value comes into play... something like VAT (value added tax) except in this case there are no taxes (no intermediate consumer losses) ... instead of that there are value added benefits (direct consumer gains).
When we compare the decimal system's 1+1=2 with the binary system's 1+1=10, we can see that in the binary system a complementing fuller wholeness is expressed... as though 1+1 is already pregnant from 1+1's intercourse. Even the 'feeling' of the mathematical signs + and = start connoting more than just a simple (meagre) addition or exact (thin) equation: 10 (binary) feels more complete than the decimal number 2.
Not sure yet how this view will impact on dualist notions... although I am getting very promising inklings about a possible change in paradigm. 


I first came upon this idea when I wanted to find out when in the history of the development of the human psyche dualism worked its way in. I began to imagine how things must have been for humans before they started counting the way we now do. I'm not saying that they used the binary system... but it seems to me that ancient texts (Genesis?) possibly try to come to grips with the idea that somehow two becomes one, etc... (The Gospel of Thomas is not very old but it tries to deal with this as well I believe.)


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