Blown to Bits: Ch 1.Final Test 2026\2027.
Koan 1: It's All Just Bits
Your computer successfully creates the illusion that it contains photographs, letters, songs, and movies.
All it really contains is bits, lots of them, patterned in ways you can't see.
Bit
A binary digit, or bit, is the smallest unit of information in a computer. It is used for storing information
and has a value of true/false, or on/off. An individual bit has a value of either 0 or 1, which is generally
used to store data and implement instructions in groups of bytes.
Koan 2: Perfection Is Normal
To err is human. When books were laboriously transcribed by hand, in ancient scriptoria and medieval
monasteries, errors crept in with every copy. Computers and networks work differently. Every copy is
per-
fect.
Error detection and correction
It is possible in theory that a single bit of a big message will arrive incorrectly. But networks don't just
pass bits from one place to another. They check to see if the bits seem to have been damaged in transit,
and correct them or retransmit them if they seem incorrect
Moore's Law
Gordon Moore, founder of Intel Corporation, observed that the density of integrated circuits seemed to
double every couple of years. This observation is referred to as "Moore's Law."
Koan 4: Processing Is Power
The speed of a computer is usually measured by the number of basic operations, such as additions, that
can be performed in one second. The fastest computers available in the early 1940s could perform about
five operations per second. The fastest today can perform about a trillion. For at least three decades, the
increase in processor speeds was exponential. Computers became twice as fast every couple of years.
These increases were one consequence of "Moore's Law".
Koan 5: More of the Same Can Be a Whole New Thing
Computing poer has experienced exponential growth. Exponential growth is actually smooth and steady; it
just takes very little time to pass from unnoticeable change to highly visible. Exponential growth of
anything can suddenly make the world look utterly different than it had
been. When that threshold is passed, changes that are "just" quantitative can look qualitative.
Koan 6: Nothing Goes Away
Koan 1: It's All Just Bits
Your computer successfully creates the illusion that it contains photographs, letters, songs, and movies.
All it really contains is bits, lots of them, patterned in ways you can't see.
Bit
A binary digit, or bit, is the smallest unit of information in a computer. It is used for storing information
and has a value of true/false, or on/off. An individual bit has a value of either 0 or 1, which is generally
used to store data and implement instructions in groups of bytes.
Koan 2: Perfection Is Normal
To err is human. When books were laboriously transcribed by hand, in ancient scriptoria and medieval
monasteries, errors crept in with every copy. Computers and networks work differently. Every copy is
per-
fect.
Error detection and correction
It is possible in theory that a single bit of a big message will arrive incorrectly. But networks don't just
pass bits from one place to another. They check to see if the bits seem to have been damaged in transit,
and correct them or retransmit them if they seem incorrect
Moore's Law
Gordon Moore, founder of Intel Corporation, observed that the density of integrated circuits seemed to
double every couple of years. This observation is referred to as "Moore's Law."
Koan 4: Processing Is Power
The speed of a computer is usually measured by the number of basic operations, such as additions, that
can be performed in one second. The fastest computers available in the early 1940s could perform about
five operations per second. The fastest today can perform about a trillion. For at least three decades, the
increase in processor speeds was exponential. Computers became twice as fast every couple of years.
These increases were one consequence of "Moore's Law".
Koan 5: More of the Same Can Be a Whole New Thing
Computing poer has experienced exponential growth. Exponential growth is actually smooth and steady; it
just takes very little time to pass from unnoticeable change to highly visible. Exponential growth of
anything can suddenly make the world look utterly different than it had
been. When that threshold is passed, changes that are "just" quantitative can look qualitative.
Koan 6: Nothing Goes Away
