Binary the way micros count

Here is a number: 1000. But what number is it? Is it a thousand in denary or is it eight written in binary?

I don’t know. I could take a guess but the difference between flying an
aircraft at eight feet and a thousand feet is a serious matter. The only
way to be certain is to say so at the time. This is done by showing the
base of the number system being used to make the meaning quite
clear. The base of the number system is shown as a subscript after the
number.

If the 1000 were a binary number, it is written as 1000₂ and if it were a denary number it would be shown as 1000₁₀.

It would be easy to advise that the base of the number system in use
is always shown against every number but this would be totally
unrealistic. No one is going to write a base after their telephone
number or a price in a shop. Use a base when it would be useful to
avoid confusion, such as by writing statements like 1000 = 8 (a
thousand = eight???). Write it as 1000₂ = 8₁₀ and make life a little
easier.