0
1
0
0
1
0
2 (error)
1
1
0
3 (error)
4 (error)
This is unable to compile. Error 01 (please use only 0 or 1).
Zero or one.
Up or down,
Open or shut,
On or off,
Good or bad,
It’s either 0 or 1,
That’s how it started,
And that’s how we think.
That’s our base.
0 or 1.
But what if I am a 2?
Where do I go?
Do I stay in the error region,
Can I not be ‘read’?
I push the number 2,
Harder and harder on the computer,
As the computer repeats to say,
Error. Unable to compile. Please use only 0 or 1.
And it finally shuts down,
And I have nowhere to go.
We need a change in mindset.
A change in base.
Where not only 0 and 1 are shown to the world,
Where 2,3,4,5, and all the other numbers,
All the other types of people,
Who are not 0 or 1,
But someone else,
Where all of them are accepted.
Where the computer always compiles,
Where society always accepts,
Where the word ‘error’ does not exist.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
No error. Complied.
*******************
Math connect
In math, a base is a system of representing numbers using different digits or combinations of digits and letters. For example, in everyday life, the most common base we use today is the decimal system (base 10 system). The decimal system has 10 digits (0-9). In computers, we generally use another number system, called the binary system (base 2 system) using 2 digits (0 and 1). Other common number systems are octal and hexadecimal systems.
In my poem, I have connected the concept of Number systems (Bases) to society to show how we should accept and include all types of people. For example, in the first paragraph the computer marks the numbers 2 and 3 as errors because they do not match the rules of the binary system. Similarly, in society, people exclude others who ‘seem different’. However, if we change our thinking, in a way change our “base”, we can create a more inclusive society where all kinds of people are accepted.
Math+Life 
Great connect. You are right – if only we can change our perspective slightly we can be more inclusive.
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