Zero

{{Mathematics}}__NOTOC__
{{hatnote|If you are looking for the famous [[World War Two|WWII]]-vintage Japanese {{wpl|Mitsubishi A6M Zero|fighter plane|,}} you've come to the wrong wiki.}}

{{Math-level|level=ns}} 
 
[[File:End Zero Hours (26642281904) (cropped).jpg|thumb]]
'''Zero''' is an incredibly useful [[mathematics|mathematical]] concept &mdash; particularly for place-value numbering systems &mdash; obtained by the West from the [[Hindu|heathens]] of the East in the closing stages of the 1<sup>st</sup> millennium CE, which raises the question of why a benevolent [[god]] would leave his followers in the dark on such an important matter for so long.

Surprisingly, for all its usefulness, it has no actual value, that's right, zero, nought, none, nil, nada, zip, bupkis, zilch, a goose egg, nought, nix, diddly squat.

{{cquote|Zero conflicted with the fundamental philosophical beliefs of the west, for contained within zero are two ideas that were poisonous to western doctrine. Indeed, these concepts would eventually destroy [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] philosophy after its long reign. These dangerous ideas were the void and the infinite.|200|200|Charles Seife}}
{{cquote|The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the [[Hindu]]s worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.|200|200|Charles Seife}}
{{cquote|Nul points!|200|200|[[Fun:Eurovision Song Contest|Eurovision Song Contest]]}}

==Finding zero==
If you are having trouble locating zero, try this. Pick a number, any number. No, don't tell me what it is! Now, take your number, and ''subtract it from itself''. This is your new number. No, I said, don't tell me what it is! Let me allow the [[aether]] to flow between our minds… your new number is '''zero'''!

Alternatively, zero is the count of objects in the empty set (∅).<ref group=note>And in the {{wpl|Natural number#von Neumann construction|standard construction of natural numbers|,}} zero ''is'' the empty set!</ref> Too dry and mathematical for you? Zero is the number of chocolates in an empty box. (Sadly.)

==Dividing by zero==
{{cquote|Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends.|||Siri, when asked for zero divided by zero<ref>http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/siri-zero-divided-by-zero/</ref>}}

However, you can actually divide by zero in {{wpl|wheel theory||,}} so there's that.

==Modern zero woo==
{{see|Pseudomathematics}}

==Further reading==
*[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-elusive-origin-of-zero1/ The Elusive Origin of Zero (July 28, 2022) By Frank Swetz & Shaharir bin Mohamad Zain - [[Scientific American]]]
*[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228390-500-nothingness-zero-the-number-they-tried-to-ban/ Nothingness: Zero, The Number they tried to ban (November 16, 2011) Webb, Richard - New Scientist]
*[https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:71f4c8ca-2b6a-4393-94dc-8d81096985bc/files/m6bbbf02856bf54fe4b723cdb143485d1 Medieval europe’s satanic ciphers: on the genesis of a modern myth, C. Philipp E. Nothaft]
===Books===
*Zero:The Biography of a Dangerous Idea (2000) Charles Seife [[Special:Booksources/978-0285635869|ISBN 978-0285635869]]
*The Nothing That Is : A Natural History of Zero (1999) Robert Kaplan [[Special:Booksources/978-0713992847|ISBN 978-0713992847]]

==See also==
*[[Infinity]]
*[[Innumeracy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

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[[Category:Mathematics]]
[[Category:Numbers]]
[[Category:Satanism]]

Categories: Mathematics, Numbers, Satanism