Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
As elegant as Warty's method is, it seems you need less questions if you use a larger numerical system. That's because for every time you ask "is the next digit 1?" you also have to ask "is there a digit after this?" you're distinguishing between three states for each digit, 1, 0 and not there, lowering efficiency.

If you use for instance hexadecimal notation things get better. A hexadecimal digit represents 4 bits, and you can pin down the value of a hexadecimal digit in 4 questions (1-8, 1-4, 1-2, 1), but you only need a single questin after that to ask about the next digit.

This means it becomes even more efficient when you take things a full byte at a time, or some even larger number. You could also try working with a notation system one short of the round numbers. "In a pentadecimal system, is the next digit between 8 and 15 or non-existent?" (If we start counting question length for efficiency this is going to kill it.)

But I feel like there should be a cleverer way to get rid of those extra questions...
You always have a next digit. 1.0 and 1.00 are equivalent, etc.