It is hard to imagine a life without zero, just as it is difficult to imagine a life without seven or nineteen. There was a time before it existed, as did any number. The first records of counting were with a wolf bone with notches carved into it (Seife 6). Overtime, counting started to occur. However, there was no purpose to count zero things, such as zero sheep or zero loaves of bread. When it came do doing mathematics later down the road, there was different numerals used to represent the numbers.

Most of mathematics was being done using repeated letters or different symbols for every number, similar to what we use today. However, none of these included zero until the need in the East. In the west, the number system was in base-10 as it is today. In Babylon, the number system was in base-60, which was unique because most other societies were using base-5, -10, -15, or -20. The Babylonian numbering system was like an abacus, but rather than being vertical, it was inscribed onto clay tablets. Each groups of the symbols represented a certain number of stones moved and each column represented a different value. Similar to our current system where 1, 10, and 100 all are represented with the same symbol, just in a different position (Seife 24). The only problem that comes with this is how do you write the number 60? Because the Babylonian number system is in base 60, the symbol for one and for sixty are the same, but the sixty is supposed to be in the second position rather than the first. This created a problem for the Babylonians, so they needed to find a way to solve that problem (Seife 25).



"Zero was the solution to the problem. By about 300 B.C. the Babylonians had started using two slanted wedges," to represent the different positions (Seife 25). This solved the problem, and the birth of zero began. At that time, zero was just a place holder, and a digit, not a number and value like it is today. A number's value comes from its place on the number line which did not come until the sixth century by Brahmagupta (Seife 70). Although the number zero was used in the East, it was rejected in the West for centuries. This was due to the evil properties that zero has. Most of the Western world rejected it. The Pythagorean Order, led by Pythagoras was the main push on the rejection of zero, which caused for the slowing down of the development of mathematics.

Some took advantage of this misunderstanding of the number zero--like Zeno. Zeno wrote a paradox, about Achilles and the Tortoise, that sparked more thoughts about zero. As this paradox could not be proven, mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers alike tried to explain it, although it could be simply proven using limits. Although zero did not initially begin to be used in the West after this, it did create a separation in beliefs. In attempts to prove Zeno's paradox, two schools of thought were created, the atomism, which said atoms are the smallest things that cannot be divided, then eventually, Achilles' atoms would pass the tortoise's atoms (45). The other was from Aristotle, which said that we were in a closed space, and that infinite points between Achilles and the Tortoise are really just a figment of Zeno's imagination. This closed space was based upon the Pythagorean universe, and how the planets move. As Aristotelian view of the universe and the proof of God's existence (46). Atomism became associated with atheism and the Aristotelian doctrine was associated with the existence of God (47). Therefore, because of zero, a separation of religion and science occurred.



Although it was rejected in the West, the idea of zero flourished in the East. It started with the Babylonians, but then was welcomed and used in India. The void played an important role in the Hindu religion, so it flourished (Seife 64). Indian mathematicians did more than just accepting zero, but they transformed it and gave it a greater role which it could utilize its fullest power (66). They used zero and base-10 to do more complex mathematics. This acceptance of zero is what lead to Brahmamagupta changing zero from becoming merely a placeholder to also being a value between -1 and 1 (70). With zero receiving a value, it could no longer be forgotten or ignored. As the Arab Nation got ahold of these ideas, they continued to build upon them. It led to the name zero, which was referred to by many different names, zero, sunya, sifr, zephirus, cifra, and cipher (71). It was also commonly known as nil, or null, or naught at different times. With the birth of zero in the East and the acceptance in the West, we have the mathematics and methods that we use today.

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