How the doubledabble algorithm works

[redstonewarrior]

Been there, done that. A way of thinking about the even-base rule is that every shift, you will always end up with a zero in the lowest bit in a "cell." If you have an odd base, this is not necessarily true, and thus carries can propagate farther. For instance, in base five, 3 * 2 = 11. Definitely neat stuff to play with.