about the “Entergy” tax - Part Three

July 16th, 2007 critical thinking

Go to Google and type in “2^10″. It will display 1024 as the answer. That’s how high a count can be indicated using two hands! Those who have “studied” computer science should have seen this immediately. It really is quite elegant. Most of my adult life I’ve thought I could only count up to ten using the fingers (ok… four fingers and a thumb) of both hands (and I still have all my fingers!) Yet it is a very simple thing to use those same fingers (and thumbs) to count - and indicate the count - up to 1024! You are reading this on a computer entirely based on this “simple” concept. It is nothing more than a prodigious number of on-off switches. You turn them on or turn them off. At the most basic level, a computer is nothing more than switches.

What’s the point? First, I hope this has been mildly entertaining. I am having fun writing it. But on a more serious note, it points out to me that what I take for granted - what I am accustomed to - what is comfortable - is not always necessarily the only way to understand - or think about things. Try using your fingers as a binary counter to count things. It’s not “easy” or “comfortable” at first. Indicating the number “four” should be easy for all of us (and if you’re really annoyed… indicating) 132…) But it is interesting - a good mental workout. If you want to take it to the next level, a little binary arithmetic can be absolutely fascinating! You can develop a fairly sophisticated “hand” calculator using binary operators…

So if this can be done.. are there those of us who think this way routinely? And is one way of thinking necessarily “better” than another?

As to the “Entergy” tax… in Part Four, I want to suggest a “thought experiment” and see if we might think about the “Entergy” tax from a different perspective. And that perspective is this: rather than all those wealthy investors holding equity in “Entergy”, let’s suggest that Vermont Yankee is entirely owned by the citizens of Vermont. They are the sole “stock” holders of Vermont Yankee.

… Part Four