What were they keeping track of? We have no idea. That was how things were back in the Stone Age – until some enterprising cavepeople started carving grooves into a wolf bone. Zero didn’t exist in the beginnings of mathematics it was invented in ancient Babylonia.Ĭan you envision a world where there are no numbers at all?

And why infinity is zero’s twin in this summary.ġ.

You’ll learn why the Babylonians originated zero.

What do you mean by that? You're about to learn. Even the philosopher René Descartes claimed it wasn't real in modern times.īut, since its eventual adoption, it's been at the centre of almost every major mathematical or scientific advance. It's such a bizarre number, in fact, that many brilliant mathematicians in the ancient world denied it ever existed. And when you divide by zero, everything goes to hell. When you multiply other numbers by zero, the result is always zero. Nothing happens when you add zero to other numbers. What am I getting out of it? Learn about the origins of a heretical number.

Philosophers interested in everything . . .

History buffs are curious about how concepts have evolved over time.

Infinity and zero aren’t simply mathematical ideas they’re also prevalent in physics.

The link between zero and its polar opposite, infinity, was quickly discovered by mathematicians to be complex but fascinating.

In the West, accepting zero was theologically difficult, but it resulted in a mathematical revolution: calculus.Ancient Indian and Arabic mathematicians adopted zero and made significant advances in mathematics.Despite its usefulness, ancient Greek philosophers rejected zero.Zero didn't exist in the beginnings of mathematics it was invented in ancient Babylonia.

Zero by Charles Seife