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Mr. Patrick M DRANSFIELD: This Mysterious Manner of Unity: Unravelling the Origin of the ‘Invention’ of the Binary System in the West (2025/12/18)
The ninth lecture in the “Encounters in the Old World, East and West: From a Transdisciplinary Perspective” series was successfully held on December 18 at the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology. Mr. Patrick Dransfield MA, BA (Joint Hons.), an independent scholar and Principal of Clearway Communications, delivered a lecture titled “This Mysterious Manner of Unity: Unravelling the Origin of the ‘Invention’ of the Binary System in the West,” chaired by Mr. Ronald Yu, Director and Co-Founder of Makebell Limited.
Mr. Dransfield’s lecture explored the origins and historical development of the Western binary system. He argued, drawing on recent work in the Spanish language by Dr Ricarrdo Perez Martinez of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, that the binary system was first published in 1670 by the Spanish-born polymath and bishop Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, who was inspired by the ancient Mayan counting system brought back to Europe from Mexico. The Mayan counting system, similar to the Chinese I Ching, involved complex cyclical time concepts and a vigesimal (base-20) counting method.
Caramuel recognized that numbers are mental constructs and proposed that different cultures could develop distinct number systems. His binary system, based on digits 0 and 1, was a foundational insight that later influenced modern computing and digital communication, dominating 99.9% of today's data representation. Leibniz, who came a decade later, plagiarized Caramuel’s system and falsely claimed its invention. Mr. Dransfield also contrasts the reductive binary worldview with Eastern philosophies, especially Neo-Confucianism of Shao Yong and Zhu Xi, who viewed the universe as dynamic and interconnected, more akin to quantum physics concepts like entanglement. The lecture concludes that ancient wisdom from both East and West offers valuable lessons for our modern, fast-paced world shaped by binary computing and digital technology.
The lively Q&A session featured reflections on his interdisciplinary research spanning poetry, philosophy, and computer science, underscoring the importance of respecting intellectual heritage across cultures.
Lecture Review:
HKBUtube: https://hkbutube.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/inner.php?id=BTS-101265
Speaker Bio:
Patrick M Dransfield gained a MA in Far East Asian Studies at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London (Chinese Politics, History & Anthropology) under the late Stuart R Schram in 1990 and has a BA (Joint Hons.) from Leeds University in English & History of Art. Mr. Dransfield is a published author, photographer and senior executive, based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is currently principal of Clearway Communications HK Ltd. ( https://wikitia.com/wiki/Patrick_Dransfield)
Mr. Dransfield’s published work includes “The Inner Circle Wu Xing Book Two: Sima Qian’s Bright Mirror”: and the self-narrated historical audio novel “The Inner Circle Wu Xing Book One: Duel of the Sorcerers” which is available on both Audible and Barnes & Noble; and a book of photography derived from an Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Wall Exhibition (October 2021) comprising China photographs from 1986 entitled ‘Track of Time: Moments of Transition’, as featured in the Financial Times HTSPI magazine on October 21st, 2020. He is in frequent demand as a speaker and as a commentator in the international business of law community.
