--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Counting in octal is just like counting…" description: "\"Counting in octal is just like counting in decimal, if you don't use your .\" — Tom Lehrer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/tom-lehrer-3442_counting_counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting_2631717.jpg" --- # Counting in octal is just like counting in decimal, if you… ![“Counting in octal is just like counting in decimal, if you don't use your .” quote by Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/tom-lehrer-3442_counting_counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting_2631717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/tom-lehrer-3442_counting_counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting_2631717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/tom-lehrer-3442_counting_counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting_2631717.jpg) > “Counting in octal is just like counting in decimal, if you don't use your .” [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Counting in octal mirrors decimal counting but uses base eight, requiring different digit handling. **In simple terms:** Octal counting is like decimal but with eight symbols. Key Takeaway Learn octal basics for computing tasks. Themes mathematics education number systems Mood informative educational Type technical instructional When to use this quote - computer programming - education - software debugging Key Concepts base conversion digital logic Questions to Reflect On - How does octal simplify certain calculations? - When is octal preferred over decimal? A Different Perspective Octal is less common today, limiting relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Counting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counting/) [Counting Decimal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counting-decimal-1865932/) [Counting Octal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counting-octal-1865930/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Counting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-counting-470826/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Octal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/octal-2195548/) [Octal Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/octal-just-1865931/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) [Your](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your/) ## Related quotes > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Tracking account planning is rather like counting a mixed batch of tropical fish. You think you see patterns, but they've all changed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/tracking-account-planning-is-rather-like-counting-a-mixed-batch-of/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When I did '1,2,3,4' on 'Sesame Street' they'd rewritten the song and made it about counting. At first, I balked. I was like, 'Counting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/when-i-did-1-2-3-4-on-sesame-street-they-d-rewritten-the-song-and/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [And marking off time struck me as something like counting empty spaces—spaces you know can't ever be filled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/and-marking-off-time-struck-me-as-something-like-counting-empty/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [Finding another you is like counting the exact population of the stars in the night sky. 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We do not believe that it is perfect, but it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/there-is-us-living-the-cuban-experience-that-we-believe-is-ours-we-do/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [We have to be innovative, we have to be fresh, we have to be new. People are counting on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/we-have-to-be-innovative-we-have-to-be-fresh-we-have-to-be-new-people/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) ## More by Tom Lehrer > [Plagiarize, plagiarize, / Let no man's work evade your eyes, / Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, / Don't shade your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/plagiarize-plagiarize-let-no-man-s-work-evade-your-eyes-remember-why/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When someone makes a move Of which we don't approve, Who is it that always intervenes? 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Unless you get a good percentage of her price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-solicit-for-your-sister-it-s-not-nice-unless-you-get-a-good/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/it-is-a-sobering-thought-that-when-mozart-was-my-age-he-had-been-dead/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [“I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky. In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-am-never-forget-the-day-i-first-meet-the-great-lobachevsky-in-one/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Disclaimer: If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared to not only retract it, but also to deny under oath I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/disclaimer-if-anyone-disagrees-with-anything-i-say-i-am-quite/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't write naughty words on the wall if you can't spell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-write-naughty-words-on-the-wall-if-you-can-t-spell/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-don-t-want-to-satirise-george-bush-and-his-puppeteers-i-want-to/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/san-francisco-is-a-city-of-twenty-something-millionaire-white-kids/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [On Christmas day you can't get sore, Your fellow man you must adore, There's time to cheat him all the more The other three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/on-christmas-day-you-can-t-get-sore-your-fellow-man-you-must-adore/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Be prepared, and be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/be-prepared-and-be-careful-not-to-do-your-good-deeds-when-there-s-no/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [There's something mathematically satisfying about music: notes fit together and harmony and all that. And mathematics has to do with abstractions and making connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/there-s-something-mathematically-satisfying-about-music-notes-fit/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) [Explore all 130 Tom Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More Counting quotes > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [We have to be innovative, we have to be fresh, we have to be new. People are counting on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/we-have-to-be-innovative-we-have-to-be-fresh-we-have-to-be-new-people/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [There is us living the Cuban experience that we believe is ours. We do not believe that it is perfect, but it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/there-is-us-living-the-cuban-experience-that-we-believe-is-ours-we-do/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [I don't count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. That is when I start counting, because then it really counts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-don-t-count-my-sit-ups-i-only-start-counting-when-it-starts-hurting/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [They're counting on your patriotism to distract you from their plunder. They're counting on you to be standing at attention with your hand over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/they-re-counting-on-your-patriotism-to-distract-you-from-their/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [“were counting on her. She couldn’t let them down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-leclair/were-counting-on-her-she-couldn-t-let-them-down/) [Laurie LeClair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-leclair/) > [Suddenly the full long wail of a ship's horn surged through the open window and flooded the dim room - a cry of boundless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/suddenly-the-full-long-wail-of-a-ship-s-horn-surged-through-the-open/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [One foot in front of the other, counting tiles on the floor so I don't have to focus the blur of painted smiles, fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-counting-tiles-on-the-floor-so-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [Why do I tire of counting sheep?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owl-city/why-do-i-tire-of-counting-sheep/) [Owl City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owl-city/) > [Beware of making a woman cry. God is counting her tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/beware-of-making-a-woman-cry-god-is-counting-her-tears/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Builders insist that success may never come without a compelling personal commitment to something you care about and would be willing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-i-porras/builders-insist-that-success-may-never-come-without-a-compelling/) [Jerry I. 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Something that saved one from loneliness? A sort of insurance policy against not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/for-was-that-all-she-thought-bleakly-that-love-ever-was-something/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) [Browse all 454 Counting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Counting in octal is just like counting in decimal, if you don't use your .", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Lehrer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Counting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/tom-lehrer-3442_counting_counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting_2631717.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/tom-lehrer-3442_counting_counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting_2631717.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18f/tom-lehrer-3442_counting_counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting_2631717.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Counting in octal is just like counting in decimal, if you don't use your .” — Tom Lehrer", "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": "Tom Lehrer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Counting in octal is just like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-like-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/#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 } } ] } ```