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Alien number systems



 
 
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  #21  
Old November 19th 09, 10:17 PM posted to sci.space.policy
Doug Freyburger
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Posts: 222
Default Alien number systems

Fred J. McCall wrote:
Sylvia Else wrote:
:Fred J. McCall wrote:
: Sylvia Else wrote:

: :With the currently available technology, the total cost of ownership of
: :a car is lowest when it runs on petrol.

: Wrong.

:Really? Then why do people have petrol driven cars?

Yes, really. Diesels have cheaper lifecycle costs.


Compared to alternative techologies the difference between the types of
internal combustion petroleum fueled engines is tiny. For the purpose
of discussing alien number systems and trinary logic, diesels are petrol
driven cars. Alcohol/LOX and kerosene/LOX rockets are different but
they both count as liquid fueled rockets when compared to technologies
like ion drives or fusion.

Diving into the details, are diesel cars lower total cost of ownership
than diesel? The experience of trucks suggests that it depends on the
size of the vehicle so it's not a slam-dunk. There has to be more to it.
  #22  
Old November 20th 09, 12:07 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Sylvia Else
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Posts: 1,063
Default Alien number systems

Jeff Findley wrote:
"Fred J. McCall" wrote in message
...
Sylvia Else wrote:

:Fred J. McCall wrote:
: Sylvia Else wrote:
:
: :Fred J. McCall wrote:
: : Sylvia Else wrote:
: :
: : :Fred J. McCall wrote:
: : :
: : : :
: : : :It depends very much how they're used. Diesel engines have a
higher
: : : :capital cost. They're only have lower total costs if they're
used a lot.
: : : : Otherwise the cost of capital is more than the lower cost of
the fuel.
: : : :
: : :
: : : For a very small definition of 'a lot'. I said 'lifecycle
costs'.
: : : Fuel costs are about the same. Short term maintenance costs are
: : : cheaper on a gasoline engine, generally. Longer term maintenance
: : : costs are MUCH lower on a diesel.
: : :
: : : Yes, if you're just going to buy a vehicle and park it, a diesel
will
: : : be more expensive. But in that case, why buy a vehicle?
: : :
: : :
: : :Are you using proper discounted cash flow in reaching that
conclusion?
: : :
: :
: : You say that like it means something. It doesn't in this case.
: :
: :
: :If you have two possible patterns of expenditure for the same benefit,
: :where the patterns differ in how payments are made over time, then the
: nly meaningful way of comparing them is to use discounted cash flow.
If
: : you don't then you're ignoring the time value of money, which is an
: :important component of the cost.
: :
:
: I'll be sure and let the people that signed my sheepskin for Economics
: know all about that.
:
: Hint: Since we're comparing costs over the same amount of time, there
: is no need to use discounted cash flow. We're not talking about
: present value cost, but total lifecycle costs.
:
id you notice the bit about patterns differing over time?
:
:I suppose not.
:

You may now take the last word, what with you having dragged things
off into the irrelevancies of you trying to 'defend' your
inappropriate analogy between computer technology and automobiles.

Bored now....


I've read this whole thread and it's more than a bit silly. Sylvia's idea
of "preconceived notions" that the current way to build a computer (binary
storage and logic using silicon chips) is the only way is everyone else's
reality. Until something ground breaking discovery alters that reality,
Sylvia's assertions are pure science fiction.


I think you're rather missed the point. The contention was that binary
(and the related octal and hexadecimal) are the basis of computers. This
contention was offered in the context of a previous statement that "Many
people think that base 2 is a universal number system but maybe it isnt."

The fact that current computer engineering is based on binary arithmetic
is a long way short of a justification of the universality of base 2.

Indeed, building a computer around base 3 would probably not even be
that difficult. Just uneconomic and pointless.

Sylvia.
 




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