5000 years ago the Sumerians invented the concept of Zero,
not as a number but as a notation, a symbol to indicate there is
nothing in this specific column of numbers. This is a space.
There is no entry here. Alexander brought the concept to Greece.
Historians expect that it grew to wide use in trade, but not as a
seperate number. The Arabs gave it to the Romans, and eventually
to Europe. Its math significance evolved during the Renaissance.
Naturally the Church condemned its use as demonic. The Mayans
developed the concept separately, as a number, around 2000 BCE
as a necessary element of a complex astronomy system Who knew.
not as a number but as a notation, a symbol to indicate there is
nothing in this specific column of numbers. This is a space.
There is no entry here. Alexander brought the concept to Greece.
Historians expect that it grew to wide use in trade, but not as a
seperate number. The Arabs gave it to the Romans, and eventually
to Europe. Its math significance evolved during the Renaissance.
Naturally the Church condemned its use as demonic. The Mayans
developed the concept separately, as a number, around 2000 BCE
as a necessary element of a complex astronomy system Who knew.
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