ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Negative base

Negative base is a way to write numbers in a different system that uses negative numbers instead of positive ones. Normally, we use numbers like 1, 2, 3, and so on to represent quantities. But in negative base, we use negative numbers like -1, -2, -3, and so on.

Let's imagine we are counting in negative base -2. This means that instead of having 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on, we have -1, -2, 3, -4, 5, and so on. The reason we start with -1 instead of 0 in this counting system is because 0 is even, and we want to use only odd numbers in negative base -2.

To count in negative base -2, we need to remember three rules. First, we only use odd numbers. Second, we always start with -1. And third, to go to the next number, we divide the current number by -2 and keep the remainder as the next digit.

For example, let's start at -1 in negative base -2. To get to the next number, we divide -1 by -2, which gives us 0 with a remainder of -1. We write down the remainder as the next digit, so now we have -11. To get to the next number, we divide -11 by -2, which gives us 5 with a remainder of -1. We write down the remainder as the next digit, so now we have -111.

In summary, negative base is a different way to write numbers using negative digits. In negative base -2, we use only odd numbers and start with -1. To get to the next number, we divide the current number by -2 and keep the remainder as the next digit.