Diary of a Coder. Chapter 2

Kernel started off the class with the number system today. Seriously, every maths book kicks off with the same chapter, but here we are, learning it again. I was curious if Kernel had anything new to add.

He began by pointing out that different cultures have their own ways of counting. We use symbols like 1, 2, 3, 4… and so on, while the Romans had their own thing with i, ii, iii, iv, v, and the rest. Then, he threw a curveball at us, asking if anyone knew how to represent zero in the Roman system. I could see it was a trick question—there’s no way to do it! The Romans didn’t even have a symbol for zero. How crazy is that?

I scanned the room, and nobody raised a hand. It turns out the Roman system didn’t bother with zero at all. That’s why they had to juggle so many symbols—x, v, z, and more. But here’s where it gets interesting: the Indian number system.

Indians were the geniuses who came up with a symbol for zero, and they built a whole counting system using just 10 symbols: 0, 1, 2, 3...9. With these, they could count anything, and it revolutionised everything.

Kernel mentioned how Albert Einstein once quoted how “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”

What's the minimum number of symbols we need to create a number system?" Kernel asked, throwing the question out to the group.

We all started thinking—could we really build a number system with just one symbol? It didn't seem possible. How would we even write zero or any other numbers?

Then Tripti chimed in, "That's called binary. Computers use it. With just two symbols, zero and one, you can count anything."

Kernel nodded and then challenged us again, "What about using three symbols?"

We all shook our heads, thinking it wasn't possible. But Kernel smiled and said, "You actually can count using symbols like 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on. But it's not as human-friendly as the Decimal system we all know and love.

Try to solve this Gate exam question. 2008 (check online with AI)

Let r denote the number system radix. The only value(s) of r that satisfy the equation sqrt{121_r} = 11_r is/are:

a) Decimal 10
b) Decimal 11
c) Decimal 10 and 11
d) Any value r>2r

"Let’s talk about ASCII," Kernel said, writing the term on the board. "It stands for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, and it’s one of the most fundamental systems that allows computers to understand text."

The Birth of ASCII: Kernel explained that in the early days of computing, different machines had different ways of representing text. It was chaos—what one computer saw as the letter 'A,' another might see as something else entirely. That’s when ASCII was introduced as a universal standard.

Then, he pulled up a chart showing how each character—letters, numbers, and even punctuation marks—had a specific number assigned to it. "For example," he said, pointing at the chart, "the capital letter 'A' is represented by the number 65 in ASCII, while 'a' is 97”.

Binary and ASCII: We started to see the connections forming. Kernel showed us how these numbers were actually stored in binary—just a bunch of 0s and 1s. "When you type 'A' on your keyboard, your computer translates that into 01000001, which is 65 in binary. That’s what gets stored and processed”.

It was fascinating to think that everything we see on our screens—emails, documents, websites—was just numbers behind the scenes. ASCII was like a secret codebook that computers used to decode our words.

The ASCII Table: Kernel then handed out printouts of the ASCII table, which listed all the characters and their corresponding numbers. "This table is a coder’s best friend”, he said. "Understanding it is crucial for working with text in any programming language”.

Vishy noticed that the table only went up to 127, which seemed odd. "What about other symbols, like accents or special characters?” he asked.

Kernel nodded, "Good catch! The original ASCII was limited to 128 characters, which was fine for English, but not for other languages. That’s where extended ASCII and Unicode come in, but we’ll get to that later”.

So, Kernel starts off by asking everyone about my grades. I'm doing pretty okay in maths and science, but languages? Ugh, let's not even talk about it. Just passing marks, you know? And then, like a ninja, he hits me with the second question: "Why are your language marks so low?"

Oh man, that question is like my worst nightmare.. I've been dodging that thing since, like, forever. I remember back in third grade, I realised I couldn't read or write like the other kids. It's like my brain just goes all wacky when I see words. And whenever the teacher makes me read in front of everyone, I turn into a tomato, all red and embarrassed. The other kids, they're like a bunch of hyenas, laughing their heads off 'cause I end up reading stuff that isn't even on the page. Talk about a reading nightmare.

After I spill my guts to the kernel about my reading horror show, he drops a bombshell on me. He's like, "Dude, you've got dyslexia." Dys-whatever? Yeah, that's what I said. Then he suggested I start writing a journal every day. That’s why I’m writing this. He also told me to use Dyslexic font whenever I read and to use audio if I get stuck.I once spilled my feelings a few months back. I was thinking about hacking off my index finger, so I told people I can’t write. But you, Diary, you’re telling me to write a journal. Do you think it’s gonna work? I am thinking all this in his head while other students are also discussing their problems with Kernel, like Rati, who is from a Hindi medium school and wants to adjust herself to this new environment, and Rony, who is facing problems in maths.

The kernel—yeah, I also have dyslexia. As a child, I felt uneducated because I believed that true education meant fluency in reading and writing any language. Yet, my dyslexia hindered me from expressing myself properly. I hid my struggles, never daring to apply for jobs. Over time, I researched my condition and discovered that many famous individuals—Albert Einstein, Tom Cruise, and Pablo Picasso—faced similar challenges.We must find solutions. We cannot merely sit with our difficulties. Google, YouTube, and Chat GPT can be our allies in this quest.Kernel shared that he's learning to play the ukulele online, a musical instrument similar to a guitar. He has a deep passion for exploring and learning new things.God created us uniquely, but society often fails to accept our individuality. Remember, not long ago, being homosexual was considered a crime in many places. Even today, prejudice persists.In class, Kernel posed a question: Who is the CEO of OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT? The answer: Sam Altman, who recently married a man. This reminds us that progress is possible.Then there’s Alan Turing, the brilliant mind from World War II-era England. He envisioned computers as more than mere calculators and introduced the concept of the Turing machine—a fundamental model for computation.Turing’s greatest feat was breaking the Nazis’ Enigma code. Enigma, a complex machine, changed its code daily, with billions of possible combinations. At Bletchley Park, Turing and his team used maths, logic, and machines to crack Enigma. Polish codebreakers, who had stolen an Enigma machine, also contributed.Their efforts allowed the Allies to read Nazi messages, turning the tide of war. Yet, Turing’s heroism went unrecognized. His personal struggle was equally poignant—he was gay, a crime in England at the time. Arrested and subjected to harmful treatments, he died tragically at 41. Some say he consumed a poisoned apple, but the truth remains elusive.Turing was a visionary. He predicted that computers would think and learn. His Turing test, still relevant today, measures artificial intelligence by assessing whether a computer can convincingly impersonate a human.So, when you next use a computer, remember the hidden stories—of code, war, and a man who reshaped our world, one binary digit at a time. There is a movie about him called The Imitation Game.After the class I asked "Kernel, why is money so important? It feels like everyone’s always chasing it."Kernel smiled thoughtfully, pausing for a moment. "Ah, money… It’s not just paper or numbers, Vishy. Money is energy. It flows through life, like water in a river. But the way we feel about it can change everything. Some people see money as a source of stress and fear—that’s what Ken Honda calls 'Unhappy Money.' Others, though, view it as a tool for joy, a way to express their passion and share it with the world. That’s 'Happy Money.'"
I raised an eyebrow. "Happy Money?" "Yes," Kernel continued, "Happy Money isn’t about how much you have; it’s about how you feel when you receive it and when you give it away. If you feel grateful, maybe even joyful, when you spend or help someone, you’re experiencing Happy Money. But if you hold onto it with fear or spend it with resentment, it turns into Unhappy Money. The trick, Vishy, is to make sure whatever you do with money, you do it with a sense of gratitude and purpose."
"So it’s not money that’s bad, but how we treat it?" I asked, still trying to piece it all together.
Kernel nodded, "Exactly, Money itself is neutral—it’s neither good nor bad. It’s how we use it, and how we feel about it, that makes the difference. Remember, Vishy. Money should serve us, not the other way around."
He then recommended a couple of books. Money feels completely different when you earn it by yourself. *Rich Dad Poor Dad* and *The Psychology of Money*. "These will give you a solid foundation," Kernel said, "and help you understand the relationship between money and mindset”. When I reached home, I downloaded the font from dyslexic.org as Kernel told me. I found that it really helped me read faster, so I decided to print out a book that I needed to learn in the coming weeks. I went to the shop with my pen drive, but after a few minutes, I realized all the pages were printed in the normal font. Oh my God, I had forgotten to include the font file! How could I make such a silly mistake?When I reached home, I told my parents about what happened in class, how my day went, and how I ended up wasting 200 rupees at the print shop. But all they seemed to focus on was the 200 rupees I wasted. They scolded me for that, completely ignoring my struggle with dyslexia. It felt like they didn’t understand or acknowledge the real issue I was dealing with, which was far more challenging than just losing some money.I figured out on my own that Unicode includes all the different fonts of worldwide languages, plus the emojis we use all the time now. Unicode allows different devices and systems to understand each other, even if they don't have the same fonts installed. It's like a universal language that helps bridge the gap, ensuring that the same text looks similar everywhere. The more I learn about these concepts, the more I understand that everything is interconnected in ways we don’t usually see. Computers, people, languages—all of it needs a way to connect, just like me trying to understand this crazy world and my place in it.