Origin and Significance of Zero

Peter Gobets is an independent researcher, specializing in philosophy, linguistics and the history of science and mathematics. He has authored three books including a philosophical novel. In the early 1990s, he drafted the original Zero Project, formally launched in 2015.Robert Lawrence Kuhn (B.A., S.M., Ph.D.) is creator and host of Closer To Truth (science and philosophy, TV and web). He has written or edited over thirty books, chairs The Kuhn Foundation, and received the China Reform Friendship Medal.

“…a fascinating interdisciplinary expedition to unearth zero’s best-kept secrets.”— Professor Max Tegmark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA “Zero has been central to battles in mathematics, in philosophy, in religion, and in the sciences.”— Professor John Leslie, University of Guelph, Canada

• ContentsForewordValdis SegliņšPrefaceRobert Lawrence KuhnAcknowledgementsList of Figures and TablesNotes on ContributorsIntroductionPeter GobetsPart 0: Zero in Historical PerspectiveIntroduction to Part 01 Viewing the Zero as a Part of Cross-cultural Intellectual HeritageBhaswati Bhattacharya2 Connecting ZerosMayank N. Vahia3 Babylonian ZerosJim Ritter4 Aspects of Zero in Ancient EgyptFriedhelm Hoffmann5 The Zero Concept in Ancient EgyptBeatrice Lumpkin6 On the Placeholder in Numeration and the Numeral Zero in ChinaCélestin Xiaohan Zhou7 Reflections on Early Dated Inscriptions from South IndiaT. S. Ravishankar8 From Śūnya to Zero – an Enigmatic OdysseyParthasarathi Mukhopadhyay9 The Significance of Zero in Jaina MathematicsAnupam Jain10 Notes on the Origin of the First Definition of Zero Consistent with Basic Physical LawsJonathan J. Crabtree11 Putting a Price on ZeroManil Suri12 Revisiting Khmer Stele K-127Debra G. Aczel, Solang Uk and Hab Touch13 The Medieval Arabic ZeroJeffrey A. Oaks14 Numeration in the Scientific Manuscripts of the MaghrebDjamil Aïssani15 The Zero Triumphant: Allegory, Emptiness and the Early History of the TarotEsther Freinkel TishmanPart 1: Zero in Religious, Philosophical and Linguistic PerspectiveIntroduction to Part 116 On the Semiotics of ZeroBrian Rotman17 Nought Matters: the History and Philosophy of ZeroPaul Ernest18 The Influence of Buddhism on the Invention and Development of ZeroAlexis Lavis19 Zero and Śūnyatā: Likely BedfellowsFabio Gironi20 Indian Origin of ZeroRavi Prakash Arya21 A Philosophical Origin of the Mathematical ZeroSudip Bhattacharyya22 Category Theory and the Ontology of ŚūnyataSisir Roy and Rayudu Posina23 Zero: an Integrative Spiritual Perspective with One and InfinitySharda S. Nandram, Puneet K. Bindlish, Ankur Joshi and Vishwanath Dhital24 Challenges in Interpreting the Invention of ZeroKaspars Klavins25 Some More Unsystematic Notes on ŚūnyaAlberto Pelissero26 Much Ado about Nothing or, How Much Philosophy Is Required to Invent the Number Zero?Johannes Bronkhorst27 From Emptiness to Nonsense: the Constitution of the Number Zero (for Non-mathematicians)Erik Hoogcarspel28 The Fear of NothingnessJohn Marmysz29 The Concept of Naught in Jewish TraditionEsti Eisenmann30 How Does Tom Tillemans Think?Erik Hoogcarspel31 Overhauling the Prevailing Worldview: an EssayPeter GobetsPart 2: Zero in the ArtsIntroduction to Part 232 Selected Works by Anish KapoorPeter GobetsPart 3: Zero in Mathematics and ScienceIntroduction to Part 333 The Unique Significance of Zero in Thinking: a Sense of ‘Nothing’Andreas Nieder34 Can We Divide by Zero?Marina Ville35 Division by Zero (khahara) in Indian MathematicsAvinash Sathaye36 Zero: in Various FormsMayank N. Vahia and Upsana Neogi37 Nothing, Zeno Paradoxes and Quantum PhysicsMarcis Auzinsh38 The Significance to Physics of the Number ZeroJoseph A. Biello and R. Samson39 A World without ZeroR. SamsonEpiloguePeter GobetsAppendix 1: Expertise Center on Zero Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)Appendix 2: Online PresentationsAppendix 3: Status Update/Petition on the Bakhshali ManuscriptIndex