[AAACE-NLA] Who Invented Zero

[Charlene Lutes]

Wasn't it the Myans who added 0 to represent "no things," and it was
actually a place holder?
 
A great mind can hold two opposing ideas at the same time. * F. Scott
Fitzgerald
 
Charlene A. Lutes, Ph.D.
Northwestern Michigan College
1701 E. Front Street
Traverse City, MI   49686
(231) 995-1971
(231) 995-1972 fax


>>> <LarryFish at aol.com> 11/19/2008 9:11 PM >>>

In a message dated 11/19/2008 6:28:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
aaace-nla-request at lists.literacytent.org writes:

 
re: Zero
 
As one can imagine, I would bet there will be no consensus on a precise
definitive answer;  but, as you say, the Babylonians seem like the best
guess.
 
Two somewhat recent books go into the complexity of the idea of Zero as
a number and concept including the history:

Charles Seife's "Zero:The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" and Robert
Kaplan's "The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero."
 
And while this can turn into an endless thread - with wiki's and
ask.com, some of the reviewer comments from the above book reviews ,
maybe the NY Times Science Editor would get involved, etc., from an
educational point of view, going into this is fascinating.


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??

 



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