Do I need to memorize binary and hex? Also when are they applicable?

[Kaiya]

Somewhat dumb question, but do I need to memorize these? Although I understand what binary and hex are, that doesn’t mean I am comfortable enough to use them in math on the fly. You said that it saves space and can make calculations faster for some things, mainly I’m assuming bigger and smaller numbers, but is this only faster if we are comfortable enough to do it? For example, some # in the trillions would be faster to write it in hex/binary probably, but if I’m not comfortable enough to do that it will likely just be faster to write it for me by writing it out or using scientific notation. Also, does this actually save space to make your game faster, or is it just the file size of the script and also the amount of code within a line? Lastly where are some places where using binary and hex be applicable?

[garypettie]

Hi Kaiya,
If you’re into programming then having a reasonable understanding of binary can be very useful - especially for things like bitwise operations, calculating the amount of memory you’re using, etc.

Hex is also especially useful for under standing things like hex color codes.

Binary and Hex are both closely related, since one digit in hexadecimal represents 4 digits in binary.
As an example you could have something like:

1010 1001 1011 0101 = A9B5
1010 = A
1001 = 9 
1011 = B 
0101 = 5

This is why they’re so prevalent in programming and computer science.

Don’t worry too much if it takes you a while to pick up though, since you’re essentially learning to count from scratch again. Remember that no one ever got good at them overnight. We all went through the same struggles at some point!