876 CE: Some Indian invents the ZERO, making math homework even more difficult and frustrating. At this point in time, Christian Europe is home to the most degraded, least advanced, most backwards-ass civilizations on the planet.
i had no idea an indian invented the zero. or that the zero was that old!
....and now i'm thinking to myself: i never did find the condensed history of india.
3 comments:
i read this several years ago:
http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Charles-Seife/dp/0285635948/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4582012-8542541?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175325550&sr=1-1
it did in fact mention that the zero -- the absence of value -- originated in india. apparently, before that time, the dominant paradigm held that the only real quantity was positive and nothing else. it seems like such a simple idea, this zero. but back then it was revolutionary.
just read some reviews and it sounds like a good read. funny... if the indian invented the concept of zero, he or she certainly didn't provide the name zero. it would have come out more like "jeeero"!
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=zero&searchmode=none
The Muslims of that day, generally contemptuous of non-Islamic culture, had no problem conceding the invention of this number system to India.
from:
http://www.etymonline.com/zero.php
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