This is continuation of my blog The Wonderful World of Numbers. Let me walk through the mechanics as I understand them — Elmsley’s original insight is elegant, and once you see it you’ll have that “of course” moment I mentioned earlier. The trick is built on a simple idea: every two-digit number can be represented as two groups of three binary digits — what Elmsley called octaves. Take the number 12. In binary octaves, 1 = 001 and 2 = 010, so 12 becomes 001 010 — six binary digits split into two groups of three. Left group = tens digit. Right group = units digit. Here’s where it gets physical. Six numbers are written…