What's binary Dad?

[tom_newton]

ISTR yellow/red/blue are primary for reflected light whereas its rgb for emitted light, hence it isn't a myth... and thats why it's CMY(K) in printing.

[ChrisC]

I went to school the same time as craig, and didn't get taught binary or hex until I did A level computing.

 

Chris

[EeEk]

We did binary at school back in the dark ages...late 70s when only the mega rich had a calculator that could add and takeaway.

 

I remember spending weeks working out binary numbers and marking them on to cards with a hb pencil then feeding them in to a computer the size of a small car

 

The kids here do touch on binary in the computing class but its hardly variable length subnet masks

[contink]

Lord alone knows this is an old topic but the reason they may not have learned binary specifically is that it was something that I think they taught as numbers to base of X... I think they mentioned binary and hexadecimal in passing but the important bit was understanding decimal had the base of 10.

[Joedetic]

*jumps up and down and waves hands*

 

I was taught binary. AS Level maths and AS Level ICT did some small amount of binary. Not enough to be tested on it, but enough to explain how it works and you could have quite easily picked it up from that.

 

It was taught in maths as an aid to teaching base 8 for logs.

 

I use it for Cisco courses and subnetting etc.

 

I'm just starting my second year at uni now so that should give you some clue as to how long ago that was (not long lol).

[mattx]

I think someone should fire up an old BBC, shove in a tape in the tape drive and force the youngsters to watch it loading - and try ask them to work out what the next numbers / letters are in sequence.

If memory serves me right, it used to load in Hex....

[Domino]

I was taught binary. AS Level maths and AS Level ICT did some small amount of binary. Not enough to be tested on it, but enough to explain how it works and you could have quite easily picked it up from that.

 

I was taught it as well, but as i remember there was a different course for ICT and computing, the computing course being more techy while ICT was use of applications etc. At least that how it was at my college.

 

However, I did binary (and some basic and VB programming) at GCSE level, and that wasn't that long ago (graduated in 2000) - so I think it depends on your exam board/ school

[Joedetic]

ICT was indeed more about applications and presentation of data such as using database and spreadsheet packages. But saying that you have to cover stuff such as network topology and various components. They teach you the difference between a hub and a switch and a MAC address and an IP address.

 

So there's a bit more technical stuff to it than just using applications. But I will agree that it did appear to be mostly just that.

[Guest Guest]

^Sorta the same at my college except "IT" had sweet FA to do with computers and more to do with being pedantic.

 

For the first 3 weeks we learned the sum total of "how do you put an elephant/giraffe/other large animal in a fridge?"

Answer - just put him in. The size of the fridge wasnt stated therefore as far as we're concerned it will fit.

 

As you probably guessed i dropped that class.

[bishopsgarthstockton]

I learned what binary hex etc was when i did BTEC electronics and A level maths.

[Friez]

From my experience of school (being a student in one up until 2001), they teach you diddly squat for what is useful.

 

I code computer games in my spare time. Some fundamental maths that is generally required:

 

Vectors, Matricies.

 

Neither of these are taught in GCSE any more, let alone Binary/Hex. And my IT Training? The teachers couldn't tell the difference between a database and a spreadsheet (since Access/Excel both present things in a 'table' format). I'm reasonably confident that a lot of teachers don't know what normalisation is.

 

Most of what I know I learned off my own back, and a few modules in my course at Uni taught me a few new things. But GCSE/A-Level stuff? What a waste of time!

 

It is sad that some of these things are no longer taught. Instead these days its far more important to teach funky subjects like 'citizenship' to turn kids into 'global citizens'. What what whaaaaat?

[Pumaedition]

Binary was drilled in to me! When i went to college for my Diploma, we had a lesson (cant remember the name of it now) and the lecturer did Binary and Hex with us for the WHOLE semester (September - February-ish).

 

Me and my college mates gave him the original name of Binary Mike (he taught us Binary, and his name was Mike...it figures!) and he didn't like it one bit.

 

However, I have forgotten the majority of what to do with binary (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing etc etc)!

[stephenleak]

I remember being taught binary at primary, 3rd year juniors(early 1980's).

I must be old

 

I think I can beat you. Bristol Grammar School, late 60's. I can clearly remember Mr Smith (one of those old-fashioned inspirational teachers) doing binary, using the triple light switch in the classroom. OK, it only went up to 111 (aka 7), but it was probably the very start of my own personal slippery slope to where I am today.

[My220x]

Someone explain hex to me as I don't understand it at all.

[Dos_Box]

Here y'go. This isn't me being lazy, it's jut too long to go into fright now.

 

Hexadecimal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[amyr]

i was taught binary/hex/octal when I was studying for my Computing A-level 1999-2001 (in a girl's grammar school lol), and then I had to learn it again when I was studying for my degree but I can't remember which unit I studied it in. I still randomly use it as have been studying for my MCDST and it came up as one of the practice questions in the first exam.

[Edu-IT]

Someone explain hex to me as I don't understand it at all.

I was taught all about binary last year but I've completely forgotten most of it now.

[Lithium]

I learnt it in 2003... We spent more time learning Pascal's triangle (which a fool could work out) than we did on Binary though.

 

I've never really used it since then, I can just about remember how it works, would need a piece of paper to work it out on though.

 

 

 

Someone explain hex to me as I don't understand it at all.

 

An evil spell

 

Or more relevantly, it uses 0-9, A-F instead of just 1 and 0?

Edited April 9, 2008 by Lithium

[localzuk]

Binary wasn't taught in school for me. I knew about it in a sorta 'i'm a geek so find things out myself' kinda way, but was taught it properly as part of my degree course.

 

Although, I did learn logic in gcse electronics.

[ICT_GUY]

I had to learn it for doing "graphics" on an Acorn electron. Changing character maps to look like an aliens.

 

00000000

00011000

00111100

00101010

00111100

00011000

00100100

01000010

= 0,24,60,42,60,24,36,66 = a little space invader for a game you had to code yourself.

 

I mean kids today, bah!

[kxv2020]

Basic Binary is taught in the at KS3/4 in Maths usually taught in Year 10 or even 9. Its not an National Curriculum requirement in ICT though.