Back in December 2016, in this same space, we shared with you The Power Of Zero, a story of the digit's invention to support Accounting, and the impact it has had ever since.
Today we are publishing a correction. It appears that this powerful number was invented in quite a different time and place than we had thought.
Today we are publishing a correction. It appears that this powerful number was invented in quite a different time and place than we had thought.
This dot evolved into the use of zero as a number in its own right.
PHOTOGRAPH BY BODLEIAN LIBRARIES, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
PHOTOGRAPH BY BODLEIAN LIBRARIES, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
According to a recent article in National Geographic, zero was created in an area closer to South Asia (present day Pakistan) than to the Middle East, and was first used 500 years earlier than previously thought.
The birch bark "Bakhshali Manuscript" was probably used by Silk Road traders practicing arithmetic during their journeys to distant marketplaces.
What I continue to find most fascinating is that, while this concept was originally created to support Accounting, it has gone on to become a central tool in fields of study from Physics to Calculus and beyond.
Any way you look at it, there is tremendous power in nothing, or zero at least.
Best regards, Peter
The birch bark "Bakhshali Manuscript" was probably used by Silk Road traders practicing arithmetic during their journeys to distant marketplaces.
What I continue to find most fascinating is that, while this concept was originally created to support Accounting, it has gone on to become a central tool in fields of study from Physics to Calculus and beyond.
Any way you look at it, there is tremendous power in nothing, or zero at least.
Best regards, Peter
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