Base
2 dominates computing technology because <a href='binary.html'>binary</a>
devices are simple and reliable, with just two stable states on or off. The
cultural preference for base 10 and the engineering advantages of base 2 have
nothing to do with any intrinsic properties of the decimal and binary numbering
systems.</p>

<p>Base 3, on the other hand, does have a genuine mathematical distinction in
its favor. By one plausible measure, it is the most efficient of all integer
bases; it offers the most econ