Zero and One

… zero and one. Now first, let’s take a look at zero. Now nobody wants to be a zero. To be a zero means to be a nothing, a nobody, a has-been, a clod.
On the other hand, almost everybody wants to be number one. To be a number one means to be a winner, top of the heap, the acme. And there seems to be a strange kind of national obsession with this particular number.

Now, in my opinion, the problem with these two numbers is that they are just too close. It leaves very little room in there for everybody else. Just not enough range. So first we need to get rid of the value judgements attached to these two numbers, and to realise that to be a zero is no better, no worse than to be number one.

Because, because what we are actually looking at here are the building blocks of the modern computer age. Everything that can be expessed in words or numbers in any language can be communicated using this simple, foolproof system. It’s all here in a nutshell, the entire alpha-numerical system, the a to zee – the zero to infinity of digital intelligence. …

written and copyright:

Laurie Anderson – Home of the Brave – 1984

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osHBA6YAHAo&t=2m40s