Back when I was a child I loved video games. I still do. The first system I ever owned was the Sega Genesis. I remember it like yesterday. It was a 16-Bit console with much to offer. Back then that was all you needed...16-Bits. Being a 5-year-old in Kindergarten playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the most fascinating thing to me.
It wasn't until I got older that I actually found out what the whole 8, 16, 64-bit, etc. was all about. Basically 16 bits means, " a generation of computers in which 16-bit processors were the norm."
I also learned that, "the 16-bit Intel architecture allows for different memory models—ways to access a particular memory location. The reason for using a specific memory model is the size of the assembler instructions or required storage for pointers. Compilers of the 16-bit era generally had the following typewidth characteristic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_genesis)":
16-bit data model Data model short int long pointers
IP16L32 (near) 16 16 32 16
I16LP32 (far) 16 16 32 32
So basically while I was making that little blue Hedgehog spin, jump, and run all across the platform, all of these arithmetic symbols were busy at work making sure everything I commanded him to do was performed flawless as well as interacting between characters and making the background look appealing to the eyes.
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