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Tally marks are just a base-1 numbering system
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024
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Base 1 does make a huge difference though. In base 1, number length is linear with respect to the size of the number - i.e. the number 10 needs 10 tallies. For any other base, the number length is logarithmic, i.e. the number 10 needs just 2 numerals in base 10 and still only 4 in base 2.
This is actually important in theoretical computer science, since computers would be much slower if you don't assume an "efficient encoding" of numbers, i.e. a logarithmic sized encoding. Base 1 is not efficient.
It is logarithmic size, it's just the special case of log~1~. The implication being the higher the base, the more efficient the encoding.
Edit: ~1~ is supposed to be subscript, but it's not showing properly in my app. Idk what it looks like for others
Log base 1 is undefined, no? It's like division by zero.
PS: it looks like subscript.