A boolean is a data type used in computer programming that can hold one of two values: true or false. It is named after the mathematician George Boole, who developed a system of logic that forms the basis of modern digital computer logic. Booleans are essential for making decisions in code, allowing programs to execute different actions based on conditions. In programming, booleans are often used in conditional statements, such as if statements, to control the flow of a program. For example, if a condition evaluates to true, a specific block of code will run; if it evaluates to false, the program will skip that block. This binary decision-making is fundamental to how computers operate.