According to Wikipedia, a digital system is a data technology that uses discrete (discontinuous) values. I think its interesting that by this definition, a written book can be considered a digital system due to the limited character set and the use of discrete symbols. We take digital to mean electronic devices; we do not normally think of a book as digital.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Digital definition
The word digital comes from the Latin word digitus, meaning finger. Today, we associate the word digital with electronics, such as computers, televisions, cameras, and mp3 players as well as communication, such as radio and television. In discussing digital technology we also need to define analog technology. According to techterms.com, we as humans perceive information in analog, which means that we capture auditory and visual signals as a continuous stream. Digital devices, on the other hand, estimate this information using a binary system of ones and zeros. Unlike analog data, digital information can be copied, edited, and moved without losing any quality. Because of the benefits digital information offers, it has become the most common way of storing and reading data.
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You are on to something, Devon, and it would be good to relate this to some of the previous posts. Just before your own, the point is made that language is a form of digital communication, and your point follows that writing (which is what you are really saying I believe) is another form of digitization.
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