Why is Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s binary system important to modern computers?

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a strong advocate of the binary number system, which is foundational to modern computer technology. While Leibniz did not use binary in his own calculating machine, the Step Reckoner, he was prescient in recognizing its suitability for mechanical calculation.1

The binary system is essential to modern computing because it employs only two digits, 0 and 1, which can be efficiently represented by the two states of an electronic circuit—such as "on" and "off" or "open" and "closed". This allows computers to process information reliably and compactly. Furthermore, these binary states directly mirror the logic of "true" and "false," enabling electrical currents to represent complex logical operations. By reducing data and instructions to sequences of bits, the binary system allows machines to perform calculations and process information algorithmically.213