Apparently, programming is a stressful occupation. Certainly, the field shares with other fields, the common stresses of difficult peers, unreasonable deadlines, long working hours and having to think. However, there are other stresses that are peculiar to computer science. These include the pressure of lugging around a huge ego, dealing with idiotic users, thinking up clever insults for the aforementioned "lusers", dealing with their cliches and offcourse the rising cost of pocket protectors, propeller caps and pizza. However, the single greatest peculiarity of computer science must surely be its adamant dependence on the binary number system.
While the rest of the world forges forwards, solving the important questions of patching the hole in the ozone, how to sell more cars and look sexier, these simple minded geeks have take taken two steps backward, not merely giving up the luxury and obvious utility of ten numbers but stubbornly arguing the superiority of this so called boolean system.
Their steadfast loyalty to an initially stupid decision and failure to admit their mistake has cost the rest of the world progress. Since these impudent neanderthals are the only ones that understand the binary system with which all computers are designed, none of sensible people of the world have been able to figure out how these blasted machines work or how to modernize their design into using the full ten digits the Real People of the world have come to know and love. The few denarians among use that have boldly dared to learn this flip-flop number system, we have lost to mental madness. These martyrs returned mumbling about bits, switch states and foaming at the mouth - in some cases, their madness as been so severe, the damage so complete that among their ramblings, they mutter how binary is the only way it would work. This just shows how low these geeks will go and how deep the rot is embedded.
But enough is enough. The millennium has come. It is a time for progress, for banding together, and indeed it is a time for grace and comprise. I, a respected and noted believer in the base-10 system, a denarian from birth, a propagandist for the ideal that the Creator gave us ten digits as a hint about how many digits we should use when counting - I am willing to compromise and admit, the base-10 system falls short, sometimes.
I speak as a representative of the People For Base-10 Party, and would like to extend to all computer geeks to come forward, divulge their secrets about computers, and together forge a new number system. A superior number system. A base untainted by the past, more powerful but overlooked, with the ability to express bigger number with less effort. Yes, I speak of none other than base eleven!
We all know that ten is greater than two, and I think with some thought, you will agree with me when I say, eleven is greater than either! Eleven will be the new ten. No longer will we be depressed by the zero in ten; no longer will there be the duality that is suggested by the wholesome one right next to the curvaceous zero; no longer will binary programmers of the world be confused by the one and zero of ten into thinking in binary. Eleven is a won won situation.
Often, the biggest deterrent to the adoption of a great fresh idea is backward compatibility. But the migration path to base-11 is simple and hassle free. Afterall, base-11 is a good approximation of base-10 and is an overkill implementation of base-2. This is obvious to anyone counting up to nine or one respectively. (The case for higher numbers is undoubtably trivial and left, as is custom, as an exercise for the studious reader).
To further the acceptance of this revolutionary idea, we are running a small compeition for a good and catchy name for the new number system. The organisers have a few catchy ideas up their sleeves and would not mind dating anyone thinking of suggesting names such as Eleventinary and Wonwon. All your base suggestions will eventually belong to us, so we would not recommend names that you have already given to children, pets and/or computers lest we refrain you from calling them ever again.
All suggestions to jas@cs.auckland.ac.nz, your base-11 party host and organizer.