Have anyone tried to break a bit even smaller? [closed]

Question

I was reading a book regarding to learn more about ASM, and the author happened to commented on bits, the exact quote is:

A bit is the indivisible atom of information. There is no half-a-bit, and no bit-and-a-half. (This has been tried. It works badly. But that didn't stop it from being tried.)

My question is when have this been tried? What was the outcome? How did it go badly? It bothering me that google isn't helping me find the answer to this question regarding on the cases when someone tried to make a half a bit and use(?) it.

Thank if you can find out when this case happened.

Answer 1

Yes. That's what arithmetic coding (a type of compression) is about. It allows information to be stored in fractional bits.

I believe that in the specific example you're talking about, that the author was merely being tongue in cheek, and not referring to any actual attempt to split bits.