[AAACE-NLA] Zero?

Wed Nov 19 17:03:20 EST 2008

Literacy is indeed political.  .

The theory that the Greeks (and Romans) were the first holders of most
knowledge has been widespread in western civilization; although it is
not currently accepted by many.

I'm curious about the book you are reading.   What is the title and who
is the author?  

I'll send you some additional sources that question the book's apparent
view of the world.

Glad that you are looking into this topic.  Once I discovered the
history of math and science I couldn't stop reading about it for a
while.

Linda

From: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org
[mailto:aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org] On Behalf Of Andrea
Wilder
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:16 PM
To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Zero?

Well, thanks Andre and Linda!

The concept of an empty space started with the Babylonians.

I got a book out that says Alexander took a lot of Greek knowledge with
him to India, there it got combined with what the Indians were already
doing, from there it went back, to the Arabs, and thence to Europe.  

Thanks for your help on this--I am trying to tie down sources.

Any others with more info??

Thanks to all.

Andrea :)

On Nov 19, 2008, at 10:54 AM, Andres Muro wrote:

Andrea:

I read that Al-Khwarizmi was the 1st to use zero in a textbook about
Algebra. So, even though, as Linda and I posted earlier, he wasn't the
one to invent it, or Algebra, he is the one that wrote about Algebra and
Zero in a textbook and systematized the use of it. 

While Al-Khwarizmi lived and worked on what now is Baghdad, cultural
center of the Arab world, he was born a Persian. This is a point of
contention between Arabs and Persians, because both claim ownership of
him. I guess that he could be considered to have dual citizenship, if
such existed in those times. Sort of like me who am an Argentinian and
American and could probably become an Israeli. Either that, or he was
undocumented. 

Please visit my art website at:
http://www.geocities.com/andresmuro/art.html

-----Original Message-----
From: Linda Hoover <linda.hoover at ppl-inc.org>
To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE
<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 7:59 am
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Zero?

Taken from

Math through the Ages:  A Gentle History for Teachers and Others,

Expanded Edition

William P. Berlinghoff and Fernando Q. Gouvea

Oxton House Publishers, 2004

Page 68

The Maya also used groups of the basic symbols to represent larger

numbers.  These groups were arranged vertically, rather than

horizontally, and were evaluated by adding the place-value amounts for

each group...the Mayan system was essentially based on twenty, except

for the peculiar use of 18.  ...The Mayan symbol was better than the

Babylonians' ambiguous spacing.  However, since their culture was not

known to Europeans until many centuries later, their system had no

influence on the development of numeration in Western culture.

Page 79

Credit for developing the base-ten place value system we now use belongs

to the Hindus, sometime before 600 A.D.  They used a small circle as the

place-holder symbol.  The Arabs learned this system in the 9th century,

and their influence gradually speared it into Europe in the two or three

centuries that followed.  The symbols for the single digits changed a

bit, but the principles remained the same.  

Page 80

By the 9th century A.D., the Hindus had made a conceptual leap that

ranks as one of the most important mathematical events of all time.

They had begun to recognize sunya, the absence of quantity, as a

quantity in its own right!  That is, they had begun to treat zero as a

number.

-----

The above information is consistent with that in another book that I

have read, but I do not have that one with me today.  That book has some

interesting stories about the resistance of the Catholic Church to this

new number system.  If you are interested in that source, let me know.

Linda Hoover

-----Original Message-----

From: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org

[mailto:aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org
<mailto:aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org?> ] On Behalf Of Andrea

Wilder

Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 8:24 AM

To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE

Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Zero?

Hi everyone,

i am trying o find out who invented he umber zero, not just a place  

holder but the number itself,.  India?  Egypt?  Babylon?  There are  

many guesses on google.  Which is authoritative?

Thanks!

Andrea :)

_______________________________________________

AAACE-NLA mailing list: AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org

http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla

LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy

http://literacytent.org

_______________________________________________

AAACE-NLA mailing list: AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org

http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla

LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy

http://literacytent.org

________________________________

Traveling over the river or through the woods this holiday season? Get
the MapQuest Toolbar
<http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212816426x1200798402/aol?redir
=http://www.mapquest.com/toolbar?ncid=emlwemqmq00000001> . Directions,
Traffic, Gas Prices & More! 

_______________________________________________

AAACE-NLA mailing list: AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org

http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla

LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy

http://literacytent.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.literacytent.org/pipermail/aaace-nla/attachments/20081119/5cd2b649/attachment.html>