ruby integers can be accessed as binary arrays

integer_is_binary_array

irb(main):019:0> a
=> 12
irb(main):014:0> a.to_s(2)
=> "1100"
irb(main):015:0> a[0]
=> 0
irb(main):016:0> a[1]
=> 0
irb(main):017:0> a[2]
=> 1
irb(main):018:0> a[3]
=> 1