In Java, why does -32 -1 = 1 ? It's not specific to just -32. It works for all negative numbers as long as they're not too big. I've found that x -1 = 1 x -2 = 3 x -3 = 7 x -4 = 15 given 0 x some large negative number Isn't -1 the same as << 1? But -32 << 1 = -64. I've read up on two's complements, but still don't understand the reasoning.