--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are 10 kinds of people in the…" description: "\"“There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numerals, and those who don't.”\" — Ian Stewart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/ian-stewart-28086_binary_there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-worl_792623.jpg" --- # There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who… ![“There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numerals, and those who don't.” quote by Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/ian-stewart-28086_binary_there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-worl_792623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/ian-stewart-28086_binary_there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-worl_792623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/ian-stewart-28086_binary_there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-worl_792623.jpg) > ““There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numerals, and those who don't.”” [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He humorously divides people into two groups based on binary understanding. **In simple terms:** People either get binary or they don’t. Key Takeaway Learn basic binary to bridge the gap. Themes humor technology education Mood lighthearted educational Type humorous informative When to use this quote - classroom teaching - online tutorials - self‑study Key Concepts binary logic digital literacy Questions to Reflect On - Do you see binary as essential or optional? - How does binary literacy affect daily life? A Different Perspective Not everyone values binary knowledge equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Binary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Linux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linux/) [Numerals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numerals/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/there-are-only-10-types-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-understand/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) > [“My nephew Marty has a T-shirt that says on the front: “There are 10 types of people in the world…” If you read these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-ayres/my-nephew-marty-has-a-t-shirt-that-says-on-the-front-there-are-10/) Ian Ayres > [I've never regretted not making Linux shareware: I really don't like the pay for use binary shareware programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-ve-never-regretted-not-making-linux-shareware-i-really-don-t-like/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [A book is an arrangement of twenty-six phonetic symbols, ten numerals, and about eight punctuation marks, and people can cast their eyes over these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/a-book-is-an-arrangement-of-twenty-six-phonetic-symbols-ten-numerals/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Standard mathematics has recently been rendered obsolete by the discovery that for years we have been writing the numeral five backward. This has led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/standard-mathematics-has-recently-been-rendered-obsolete-by-the/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Confusingly, these signs are known as Arabic numerals even though they were first invented by the Hindus (even more confusingly, modern Arabs use a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/confusingly-these-signs-are-known-as-arabic-numerals-even-though-they/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Time is something in life not to divide if so you loose it four times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-clark/time-is-something-in-life-not-to-divide-if-so-you-loose-it-four-times/) [Denise Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-clark/) > [Numerals are images of amounts. But the amounts they represent are real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-h-williams/numerals-are-images-of-amounts-but-the-amounts-they-represent-are-real/) [Roy H. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-h-williams/) > [She doesn't understand the concept of Roman numerals. She thought we just fought in world war eleven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/she-doesn-t-understand-the-concept-of-roman-numerals-she-thought-we/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [“By the latter part of the first millennium of the Current Era, the system we use today to write numbers and do arithmetic had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-j-devlin/by-the-latter-part-of-the-first-millennium-of-the-current-era-the/) [Keith J. Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-j-devlin/) > [“Before the Arabic numerals replaced the Roman ones, the hexadecimal system (taken from Chinese) was present in italian which didn't recognize 'Zero' - hence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-ibrahim/before-the-arabic-numerals-replaced-the-roman-ones-the-hexadecimal/) [Ibrahim Ibrahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-ibrahim/) > [The physical five oranges goes up the ladder to the picture of the five oranges which goes up to the representation of the five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-meyer/the-physical-five-oranges-goes-up-the-ladder-to-the-picture-of-the/) [Dan Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-meyer/) > [Programming graphics in X is like finding the square root of PI using Roman numerals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-spencer/programming-graphics-in-x-is-like-finding-the-square-root-of-pi-using/) [Henry Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-spencer/) > [The only thing that it is advisable to know in any language is the numerals; and even there, you can do a lot with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-only-thing-that-it-is-advisable-to-know-in-any-language-is-the/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-i-have-been-told-aristotle-so/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Ian Stewart > [If our brains were simple enough for us to understand them, we'd be so simple that we couldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/if-our-brains-were-simple-enough-for-us-to-understand-them-we-d-be-so/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Our teaching of mathematics revolves around a fundamental conflict. Rightly or wrongly, students are required to master a series of mathematical concepts and techniques,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/our-teaching-of-mathematics-revolves-around-a-fundamental-conflict/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [“Something that doesn't actually exist can still be useful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/something-that-doesn-t-actually-exist-can-still-be-useful/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [First is first, and second is nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/first-is-first-and-second-is-nowhere/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Mathematics is the science of patterns, and nature exploits just about every pattern that there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/mathematics-is-the-science-of-patterns-and-nature-exploits-just-about/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Two centuries ago Carl Friedrich Gauss, one of the greatest mathematicians and a founder of number theory, described his brainchild as "the queen of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/two-centuries-ago-carl-friedrich-gauss-one-of-the-greatest/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [“Only three constants are significant for star formation: the gravitational constant, the fine structure constant, and a constant that governs nuclear reaction rates.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/only-three-constants-are-significant-for-star-formation-the/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Chaos is lawless behavior governed entirely by law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/chaos-is-lawless-behavior-governed-entirely-by-law/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Religion hinges upon faith, politics hinges upon who can tell the most convincing lies or maybe just shout the loudest, but science hinges upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/religion-hinges-upon-faith-politics-hinges-upon-who-can-tell-the-most/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [During the past fifty years, more mathematics has been created than in all previous ages put together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/during-the-past-fifty-years-more-mathematics-has-been-created-than-in/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/the-flapping-of-a-single-butterfly-s-wing-today-produces-a-tiny/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [One of the biggest problems of mathematics is to explain to everyone else what it is all about. The technical trappings of the subject,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/one-of-the-biggest-problems-of-mathematics-is-to-explain-to-everyone/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [To criticize mathematics for its abstraction is to miss the point entirely. Abstraction is what makes mathematics work. If you concentrate too closely on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/to-criticize-mathematics-for-its-abstraction-is-to-miss-the-point/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [I don't want to convince you that mathematics is useful. It is, but utility is not the only criterion for value to humanity. Above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/i-don-t-want-to-convince-you-that-mathematics-is-useful-it-is-but/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Mathematicians are beginning to view order and chaos as two distinct manifestations of an underlying determinism. And neither state exists in isolation. The typical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/mathematicians-are-beginning-to-view-order-and-chaos-as-two-distinct/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) [Explore all 19 Ian Stewart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) ## More Binary quotes > [I don't think there's anything unique about human intellience. All the nuerons in the brain that make up perceptions and emotions operate in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-unique-about-human-intellience-all-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I live in a binary star system, my two suns being my two sons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrado-ghinamo/i-live-in-a-binary-star-system-my-two-suns-being-my-two-sons/) Corrado Ghinamo > [The simplest kind of decision is binary: that is, the question can be answered, in principle at least, by either yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-w-barber/the-simplest-kind-of-decision-is-binary-that-is-the-question-can-be/) [E. J. W. Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-w-barber/) > [Today, we've got what seems to me to be binary-choice politics: black and white, ones and zeros, either you are with me or against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-hoffman/today-we-ve-got-what-seems-to-me-to-be-binary-choice-politics-black/) [David E. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-hoffman/) > [ Object-oriented programming aficionados think that everything is an object… this \[isn't\] so. There are things that are objects. Things that have state and change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stepanov/object-oriented-programming-aficionados-think-that-everything-is-an/) [Alexander Stepanov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-stepanov/) > [A lot of people still have the idea that drag goes from one end of the gender spectrum to the other end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/a-lot-of-people-still-have-the-idea-that-drag-goes-from-one-end-of/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [When I first started going out to lesbian clubs, I felt a very binary recreation of hetero culture. There are butches and femmes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/when-i-first-started-going-out-to-lesbian-clubs-i-felt-a-very-binary/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [I'm someone that likes to not think too binary about human qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-thompson/i-m-someone-that-likes-to-not-think-too-binary-about-human-qualities/) [Tessa Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-thompson/) > [Coming out as non-binary has honestly been the best thing ever for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-flip/coming-out-as-non-binary-has-honestly-been-the-best-thing-ever-for-me/) [G Flip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-flip/) > [For too long, history has imposed a binary condition on its black citizens: either nameless or renowned, menial or exceptional, passive recipients of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/for-too-long-history-has-imposed-a-binary-condition-on-its-black/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) > [I've never regretted not making Linux shareware: I really don't like the pay for use binary shareware programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-ve-never-regretted-not-making-linux-shareware-i-really-don-t-like/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [“Belonging is one of the things that makes life bearable, and it can be tough to look at a binary world and choose against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/belonging-is-one-of-the-things-that-makes-life-bearable-and-it-can-be/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > ['Crazy Rich Asians' has been compared to 'Black Panther,' but I feel like that's a false equivalency. The idea that there's only this film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonoya-mizuno/crazy-rich-asians-has-been-compared-to-black-panther-but-i-feel-like/) [Sonoya Mizuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonoya-mizuno/) > [Not all bodies are born in male or female. There is a continuum of bodies and it seems to me that trying to persuade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/not-all-bodies-are-born-in-male-or-female-there-is-a-continuum-of/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) [Browse all 135 Binary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numerals, and those who don't.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Stewart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-understand-binary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Binary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-understand-binary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/ian-stewart-28086_binary_there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-worl_792623.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/ian-stewart-28086_binary_there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-worl_792623.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/ian-stewart-28086_binary_there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-worl_792623.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numerals, and those who don't.” — Ian Stewart", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ian Stewart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There are 10 kinds of people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-understand-binary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-understand-binary/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```