Finger binary Finger binary Finger binary is a system for counting and displaying binary numbers on the fingers of one or more hands. It is possible to count from 0 to 31 (2−1) using the fingers of a single hand, or from 0 through 1023 (2−1) if both hands are used. In the binary number system, each numerical digit has two possible states (0 or 1) and each successive digit represents an increasing power of two. Note: What follows is but one of several possible schemes for assigning the values 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. to fingers, not necessarily the best.
Finger-counting the book "Pi in the Sky," by John D. Barrow. Finger-counting systems in use in many regions of Asia allow the counting to 12 by using a single hand. The thumb acts as a pointer touching the three finger bones of each finger in turn, starting with the outermost bone of the little finger. One hand is used to count numbers up to 12. The other hand is used to display the number of completed base-12s. This continues until twelve dozen is reached, therefore 144 is counted. Chinese number gestures count up to 10 but can exhibit some regional differences.