This past weekend I had to count 24 laps, 4 per mile times 6 miles. So to keep me busy as I ran around the loop over and over again I decided to count on my fingers. However, instead of using base 10 I used base 2 or binary. This allowed me to easily count to 8 on one hand. I used my thumb to hold down 3 of my 4 fingers. A finger up is a 0 and a finger held down is a 1. My index finger is the 1s place (2**0 where ‘M**N’ means M raised to the N power), my middle finger is the 2s place (2**1), and my third finger is the 4s place (2**2). But enough of the math, here is a table of the number and signs as I counted.
| Laps Completed | Finger Position |
|---|---|
| 0 |  |
| 1 |  |
| 2 |  |
| 3 = 2 + 1 |  |
| 4 |  |
| 5 = 4 + 1 |  |
| 6 = 4 + 2 |  |
| 7 = 4 + 2 + 1 |  |
I could have counted to 16 with all 4 fingers, where my pinkie is the 8s place (2**3), but it wasn’t worth it. Anyways this kept me busy enough as I struggled to concentrate on just running and counting to 8 three times.
