>>13461601We didn't always have transistors. Transistors can be switched between two voltage levels (conducting/nonconducting), but there's no reason a more complex device couldn't have three voltage levels. Semiconductors are hard though, so I'm not sure how well you can modify a MOSFET to be switched around three levels, or whether you'd prefer outputs to be -3V, 0V, and 3V or 0V, 3V, and 6V.
>>13462095Roots of unity suck at being bases because they just degenerate into a variant of unary. That is, powers of i don't leave the unit circle, but powers of 2i spiral outwards (and inwards for negative powers).
Base 2i uses four symbols {0, 1, 2, 3} because the minimal polynomial is , and 4 strictly bounds each symbol's value.
>>13462115Language isn't "base infinite" because it can theoretically specify any number. Realistically Roman numerals are base 10, with a sub-base of 5.
