The Invention of Zero

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The Invention of Zero

• Joanne, Kristan Dayle
• Primary/Junior Math
• Tuesday January 19th, 2010

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• Why were numbers needed?
• To count sheep
• To keep track of property
• To keep track of time

These tasks had no use for a zero!!
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Egyptians -Had no need for a zero -Had a unique
symbol to represent each number -Never progressed
beyond measuring and counting -Only practical
uses of mathematics
Babylonians -Had a sexagesimal system, which
meant that 11, 601, 36 001, etc all looked the
same -By 300 BC were using a marker for an empty
space (a place holder)? -Zero was a digit, not
a number (p. 15)?
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Ancient Greeks

• Zero linked with the void and chaos FEAR
• Pythagoras connection between shapes and
  numbers zero doesnt fit.
• "Zero was a number that didn't seem to make any
  geometric sense, so to include it, the Greeks
  would have had to revamp their entire way of
  doing
• mathematics. They chose not to" (p.34-35).

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• Fractions
• Greek philosophy, which was inseparable from
  numbers, stated that contained within zero are
  two ideas that were poisonous to Western
  doctrinethe void and the infinite(p.39).

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Aristotle

• Aristotelian Doctrine was based on Pythagorean
  concepts of a universe without Zero. Because of
  the number-shape duality in Greek Numbers, it was
  easy to deny the existence of Zero as it doesn't
  have a shape. BUT even this wasn't the real
  reason fro the Ancient Greeks' denial of Zero.
• It was Philosophy, in particular, concepts of the
  void and the infinite. The concept of the
  universe as a Finite space was adopted by
  Aristotle from Pythagorus and later adapted by
  Ptolemy. The idea being that the universe was
  comprised of planets that moved within a number
  of celestial spheres the outermost sphere being a
  midnight blue colour with fixed stars and Earth
  at the centre. To him, infinity didn't exist, so
  Zero didn't exist. No infinity, no void. This
  philosophy endured for centuries because to them,
  it proved the existence of God.
• If the universe was comprised of spheres layered
  upon spheres, each one causing the next one to
  move, then God must be the Prime Mover who causes
  the outermost sphere to move. If there are an
  infinite number of spheres, then there's no Prime
  Mover (no God) but Atheists were frowned upon so,
  yeah, there's a God. As such, the universe must
  be finite and anyone who suggests that the
  universe is infinite is a heretic.

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Denial of Zero Form of Social Control

• The concept of Zero is tied up in the void and
  the infinite. Zero The Void which implies the
  existence of the Infinite.
• a) There could be an infinite amount of void, so
  the infinite exists
• b) There could be a finite amount of void, but
  since void is a lack of matter, there must be an
  infinite amount of matter to make sure that
  there's only a finite amount of void, thus
  infinity exists.
• Since Zero is essentially the Void, it had to be
  suppressed. This was easier said than done. (See
  page 47, last paragraph)?

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Social Control?

• IS THIS A TYPE OF SOCIAL CONTROL? IF THE UNIVERSE
  IS A FINITE PLACE, THEN GOD EXISTS (AS PER
  ARISTOTLE'S DOCTRINE). IF GOD EXISTS, WE NEED TO
  OBEY HIS RULES REGULATIONS. HIS RULES
  REGULATIONS ARE ARTICULATED TO THE ILLITERATE
  MASSES BY THE PEOPLE WHO CONCLUDED THAT THE
  UNIVERSE IS A FINITE PLACE. IF WE THROW ZERO INTO
  THE MIX, THIS ALL FALLS APART, DOESN'T IT? NOW,
  LEST WE SHAKE OUR HEADS AT THE 'ILLITERATE
  MASSES', CONSIDER THIS...
• WHAT IS IT? HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH? WHY IS IT WORTH
  THAT?

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Eastern Thought

• Embraced void/zero Hinduism steeped in
  symbolism of duality
• Shiva also represented nothingness "ultimate
  void, the supreme nothing - lifelessness
  incarnate. But out of the void, the universe was
  born, as was the infinite...Nothingness was what
  the world came from, and to achieve nothingness
  again became the ultimate goal of (hu)mankind"

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POWER!

• Zero changed from placeholder to number

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Birth of Algebra

• Zero had a specific value, a fixed place on the
  number line. "Since zero
• was equal to 2-2, then it had to be placed
  between one (2-1) and negative
• one (2-3). Nothing else made sense"(p.70).
• Arab world/Muslims accepted zero and rejected
  Aristotle 9th century

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WESTERN THOUGHT

• Introduced to Western world by Fibonacci in 1202
  in his book Liber Abaci

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CALENDAR

• What year did the millennium take place?
• Controversy because no ZERO in our calendar
• Egyptian calendar was the ancestor of our own
  calendar
• Dionysius Exiguus two problems with his
  calendar
• 1) Christ's birth
• 2) Century/millennium beginnings