From: "James G. Sack (jim)" <jsack@dornfeld.com>

  I respectfully submit that some previous message contributors suffer from
  cultural parochialism. I don't want to single out any one person, since
  I believe that the affliction may be quite widespread, but a sample quote
  runs something like:

  > ...Only computers think in binary. I have 10 fingers and 10 toes so
  > I think in decimal numbers. ...

  If one can only suspend the conventional model implanted by years of
  institutional mathematics training, and objectively re-examine human
  architecture, it must be acknowledged that the canonical accumulating
  device for manual calculation is best represented by a hexadecimal base
  number system.

  Clearly, each hand has 4 binary digits ("bits") and of course, a carry
  flag (sometimes called half-carry, or even "thumb").  Other names for
  hand, used in various technical disciplines, are "half-adder" or "nibble".

  With a standard complement of two hands, you can count to FF (255,
  decimal). For reasons, unknown to me, the 2-handed unit has come to be
  called a "byte".

  By pressing other appendages into service, one may further extend the
  counting limit to FFFF (65535, decimal). There seems to some disagreement
  on what to call the storage unit formed by combining hands and feet. One
  sees word, short, and even in times past, int. Would anybody care to vote
  for "fourhand"?

  Arguably, one could insist that everything can ALWAYS be broken down into
  fingers (or "bits"). In fact, I AGREE that bit IS more fundamental than
  hand (which explains why computers, which can only "think" in the simplest
  sense of the term, make heavy use of the binary number system).  However,
  it is my observation that humans, prefer a higher level of abstraction.

  Incidentally, there is no truth to the ugly notion (advanced by
  kernel-hackers, no doubt) that most humans use names such as "thirteen"
  instead of "1101" simply because they are slow-witted. I know that I have
  no trouble equating "index-finger + ring-finger + pinky" with "thirteen"
  (or hex D), and the shorter representation certainly greatly aids human
  communication and conceptualization.

  Despite the convenient practice of using shorthand names for various
  handful-multiples -- namely, 2-hand units, 4-hand units, and even 8- or
  16-hand units (8,16,32,64 bits, respectively), most would agree that the
  hexadecimal "hand" is the natural chunk-size for human reasoning and
  communication. I trust that these clarifying observations will reduce the
  message clutter rooted in the cultural attachment to the artificial and
  messy decimal system!