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Incas Used Binary?

Posted by Hemos on from the how-do-you-count-to-one-in-pi? dept.

Abhijeet Chavan writes "An article in the Independent reports that a leading scholar believes the Incas may have used a form of binary code 500 years before computers were invented. 'Gary Urton, professor of anthropology at Harvard University, has re-analysed the complicated knotted strings of the Inca - decorative objects called khipu - and found they contain a seven-bit binary code capable of conveying more than 1,500 separate units of information...If Professor Urton is right, it means the Inca not only invented a form of binary code more than 500 years before the invention of the computer, but they used it as part of the only three-dimensional written language.'"

8 of 477 comments (clear)

  1. Whoa! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Jeepers!

  2. Great! So, SCO itself is in violation?? by jkrise · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    After all, SCOde is derived from the binary code which they invented, right? Seeing that a Peruvian Doctor (I keep forgetting his name) wrote that unforgettable letter to MS, we could ask him to speak up for the Incas.

    There's no hurry to present any evidence - we can always dig up proof later, and that could take ages.

    --
    If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
  3. Mods on crack - again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    This gets modded +4 informative? RTFA!!!!!

  4. So what by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    they got wacked by the Spaniards cuz they was a bunch of pussies, yeah I guess binary really helped their crappy little civilization - NOT

  5. WARNING::BEARE SURAK = KNOWN TROLL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    read his journal before moderating plz k thx.

    1. Re:WARNING::BEARE SURAK = KNOWN TROLL by brakk · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Good try to get people to read your journal

  6. The Power of Two in Three Steps. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Warning: The following information may change the way you look on your life forever.

    1. Cells divide in two recursively.

    2. Think of the female entitiy as a 0 and the male entity as a 1. The following logical or table will tell you how the biological evolution works.

    0 | 0 = 0
    0 | 1 = 1
    1 | 0 = 1
    1 | 1 = 0

    (| represents a logical or operator.)

    3. So it is written; "0 is eternal. As long as there is energy there can be 1."

  7. Maybe they'll start to teach kids the truth now? by ortholattice · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    If you do a Google search, most school kids seem to have been taught to think like Jared (PPT presentation; sorry):
    I admire Bill gates. He Donates Millions to charity and computers to schools like ours. He invented computers and programs to make Our lives Easier.
    However there are a few independent thinkers like Danielle who want to set things straight:
    Many think that Bill Gates invented computers, but he actually invented the computer language called Binary Code.
    So, there you have it, folks.