HMCS, hexidecimal number system
HMCS mentions the hexadecimal system too - and says 'it combines 4 positions of the dual system and forms 16 as the base.'
Google searches
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexadecimal
*Counting hexadecimal on your fingers:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hexadecimal_time/2397868049/
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wikipedia says
Each hexadecimal digit represents four binary digits (bits) (also called a "nibble"), and the primary use of hexadecimal notation is as a human-friendly representation of binary coded values in computing and digital electronics. For example, byte values can range from 0 to 255 (decimal) but may be more conveniently represented as two hexadecimal digits in the range 00 through FF. Hexadecimal is also commonly used to represent computer memory addresses.
ok maybe i get some of it now
so, in binary, the first sixteen digits (0-15) kind of look the same as hexidecimal, but instead of writing out the binary version, they just use hexidecimal digits, which are easier to work with.
but also...it is probably easier to store a hexidecimal value? it is sort of like storing protein data... (maybe?)
dna is written actg... a protein would be a combination of act tca gac, and i think there are 64 combinations for amino acids. THEN, there is a shorthand for the amino acids, so proteins can be written in shorter format (as I remember)
Though...in dna the actual order of the dna base pairs does matter, because it is possible to have different proteins encoded on the same string of dna.
Maybe the same could be possible with binary numbers, but who, how and why anyone would do this to save space, I cannot imagine. I trust the dna and its own evolution over millions of years.
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