Status
Available
Publication
Viking Adult (2000), Hardcover
Description
The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus 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. In Zero, science journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers-from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists-who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member billhatfield
Fascinating take on the history of ideas from the perspective of a mathematician. Argues that the exclusion of zero/infinity from the Western thought process (since Aristotle) limited and formed our philosophical and religious ideas and ultimately our early development in science. Seems like a
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stretch, but the author makes a convincing case. Also tracks the use of zero/infinity from India through the Islamic countries and ultimately into the West. The real joy of the book is in its sweep through history from this unique perspective. Lots of fascinating, little-known historical trivia tidbits throughout. Show Less
LibraryThing member _Zoe_
I was initially skeptical about this book, because in the early chapters I felt like Seife sometimes presented questionable anecdotes as fact. Plus, for the chapters that I knew the most about, I lamented the lack of footnotes, which isn't really a fair criticism of a popular science work. The book
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quickly won me over, though, and I often found myself reluctant to put it down. The story presented here is about much more than math: there's history, philosophy, religion, and modern physics too. Much of the material was already familiar to me, but Seife brought it all together into a satisfying overview of the evolution of western thought. I would recommend this even to people who don't particularly like math; it's not very technical and is full of information that would be interesting to anyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member stef7sa
Interesting read. Most surprising the representation of complex numbers as points on a globe. The physics part at the end seemed a bit far fetched.
LibraryThing member co_coyote
This is a most interesting book about the number zero. I don't believe I ever realized before what a radical idea it was, and what havoc it played with number theory, such as it was in Aristotle's day and for centuries to come in the West. Seife's ability to explain the role of zero, and its twin,
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infinity in conjunction with imaginary numbers and Riemann geometry was like an epiphany. Is it too late to become a mathematician? Highly recommended, especially if you are not a mathematician. Show Less
LibraryThing member crazybatcow
It's, err, about Math. Why on earth I'd pick this up considering I barely understand division is beyond me. It's not bad for a "layperson" to follow, really, though a lot of the examples were over my head (i.e. I still don't understand the concept of Zero being infinity...)
It's an interesting look
Anyway, it's good for what it is, but I won't be investing any time in mathematical research anytime soon... math is hard!
It's an interesting look
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at the evolution of math, and interesting in that I hadn't realized that Zero is a relatively new understanding for humankind. (I wonder if the aliens gave it to us?)Anyway, it's good for what it is, but I won't be investing any time in mathematical research anytime soon... math is hard!
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LibraryThing member xenchu
The history of zero is indeed interesting. But as the concept advanced to the modern it becomes more and more elusive to the mathematically inept mind, that is, my mind.
The book is well-written and patiently explained but one needs capacity to understand. Mine is limited. Therefor I can only say
The book is well-written and patiently explained but one needs capacity to understand. Mine is limited. Therefor I can only say
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read it and determine your own capacity. Show Less
LibraryThing member kaelirenee
Not only has zero not always existed, numbers aren't quite as concrete as our math teachers would have us believe. Seife presents the entire history of counting and numbers before getting into the history, philosophy and theology surrounding the number zero (and frequently, infinity).
It helps to
This is an excellent and sweeping history of how religion has had to change itself because of the immutable idea of nothingness. This also goes into the history of physics, particularly quantum physics and string theory, and astronomy. This is because, in almost all situations, mathematical theorums work beautifully and explain nature and the cosmos-until you have to account for zero.
Well writen and researched. Highly recommended for any level reader-layman or expert.
It helps to
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be somewhat comfortable with mathematical concepts, but it is not mandatory at all. Nor is it mandatory to know much about Greek philosophy-and the two get about as much attention. This is an excellent and sweeping history of how religion has had to change itself because of the immutable idea of nothingness. This also goes into the history of physics, particularly quantum physics and string theory, and astronomy. This is because, in almost all situations, mathematical theorums work beautifully and explain nature and the cosmos-until you have to account for zero.
Well writen and researched. Highly recommended for any level reader-layman or expert.
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LibraryThing member flexatone
Zero is organized well enough, moving along history from its start as a placeholder to its linchpin in calculus. Following his explanation of calculus, though, the book descends into a rehashing of, say, A Brief History of Time and the narrative becomes diffuse. Throughout, Seife's data and
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research are compelling, even if his arguments (connecting Aristotle, faith, and the notion of zero) are not always convincingly conveyed. Show Less
LibraryThing member pw0327
Charles Seife has written an excellent book on the concept of zero. An idea that had been taken for granted for years. No one really understand the meaning of the value of the concept of zero at first, but once contemplated, the concept is quite ingenious.
I thought Seife did a very admirable job
Where he really shines is when he coupled zero with infinity. I have always had a real problem with the relativity concept, even when I was studying physics. But Seife does an excellent job explaining all of the ideas. Where he falters is where he tries to make the connection between the numbers with the theories of modern physics, perhaps it is the problem with the concept of superstrings that bogs the narrative down into the morass of incomprehention, but the narrative does bog down when it enters this section. Since Brian Green has written a much bigger and thicker book on the subject of superstrings, I would hazard to guess that the fault does not lie with Seife but with the subject, which is, by the way, a sub-area of the book, so I wouldn't worry about it. Even if no one understands the connection between modern physics and zero, the book is a rewarding read.
I thought Seife did a very admirable job
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introducing the concept, following along on the chronology and explaining why it was such a devious and subversive concept to the church and to philosophy in general. I found his explanations lucid and clear and the history is quite interesting. The chapter on projective geometry was particularly enlightening. Where he really shines is when he coupled zero with infinity. I have always had a real problem with the relativity concept, even when I was studying physics. But Seife does an excellent job explaining all of the ideas. Where he falters is where he tries to make the connection between the numbers with the theories of modern physics, perhaps it is the problem with the concept of superstrings that bogs the narrative down into the morass of incomprehention, but the narrative does bog down when it enters this section. Since Brian Green has written a much bigger and thicker book on the subject of superstrings, I would hazard to guess that the fault does not lie with Seife but with the subject, which is, by the way, a sub-area of the book, so I wouldn't worry about it. Even if no one understands the connection between modern physics and zero, the book is a rewarding read.
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LibraryThing member themulhern
Generally lively and fun book w/ a few flaws. The somewhat inaccurate historical asides as footnotes are a bit troubling, but sometimes they end up in parentheses instead, which is more annoying. The preface, about a division-by-zero error in some software on a US Navy ship is just too metaphorical
All in all, a fun read w/ some real math in it.
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to be anything but ridiculous to a practicing software engineer. The illustration enliven the book w/out generally contributing much to understanding. Chapter 1 discusses number systems and some of the arithmetic properties of 0. Chapter 2 discusses many aspects of Greek mathematics and also the fact that our calendar has no year 0. I tend not to celebrate arbitrary dates, so I never took any interest in the "when is the true millenium?" discussion, and I still don't. Chapter 3 gives credit to the Hindu mathematicians for actual inventing zero and our decimal number system and digits, talks about numerology, and the Fibonacci sequence, and gives an etymology for the word "stockholder". Chapter 4 discusses Copernicus and Ptolemy, the Cartesian coordinate system, the vanishing point in perspective drawing, atmospheric pressure, and Pascal's wager. Chapter 5 is mostly about the early stages of calculus, from Archimedes' method of exhaustion to Newton, Leibniz, Bishop Berkley, and L'Hopital's rule. The connection with zero is often tenuous, but a book that was actually just about zero would probably be very boring. There is some discussion about a connection between math and religion; I know about the Pythagoreans and their distress over irrational numbers...but the rest just seems goofy.All in all, a fun read w/ some real math in it.
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LibraryThing member KatieBrugger
This book covers mathematics, history, philosophy, the history of science, and quantum physics. An interesting observation I learned from this book: the next time someone calls you “a zero” or you hear someone use zero as a pejorative term, you will know that person is ignorant of the true
The book begins by exploring the beginnings of numerical symbols in the Middle East cultures of Greece, Egypt, and Babylonia a few hundred years before the beginning of the current era.
The history of zero (at least west of India, this book does not cover China) begins in the Babylonian civilization concurrent with ancient Greece. The Babylonians discovered how to write numbers using a place system, and this necessitated a placekeeper meaning “naught.”
The first half of the book traces the resistance to the idea of zero from the early Greeks and Egyptians to Aristotelian-influenced Christianity. None of these cultures’ belief-systems could allow for the concept of the void, of nothingness. Christianity had absorbed Greek philosophy and one of the elements of this philosophy was the aversion to the idea of nothing. The Greeks did not believe that nothing or infinity existed. Even though the Bible begins with God creating the universe out of the void, the Judeo-Christian tradition ignored this to follow the Aristotelian credo that there is no void and there is no infinity.
Zero was heretical to the Catholic church. Only with the Renaissance did zero become accepted in Europe. With the Reformation came the loosening of strictures against free thought, and the European mind opened up to new ideas. With the introduction of zero began the advances in mathematics and science that have led to the technological civilization of today.
But the concept of zero is a latecomer to our culture and we have not completely integrated it into our cultural paradigm. Look at a computer keyboard. Zero is not in its proper place before 1 where it belongs; it is dangling up above 9. Look at a telephone. Zero is stuck below the three-by-three keypad of numbers in a limbo symbol-land of asterisk and pound sign.
The author goes on to trace the development of science, using zero as the focal point, up to modern-day quantum physics. Quantum physics gives an understanding of zero analogous to white light. As white light contains all colors, zero contains all within it. There is no such thing as nothing. Vacuum is not nothing; it is everything.
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meaning of the word. Zero is an important number and is as big as infinity. To be zero is to be everything.The book begins by exploring the beginnings of numerical symbols in the Middle East cultures of Greece, Egypt, and Babylonia a few hundred years before the beginning of the current era.
The history of zero (at least west of India, this book does not cover China) begins in the Babylonian civilization concurrent with ancient Greece. The Babylonians discovered how to write numbers using a place system, and this necessitated a placekeeper meaning “naught.”
The first half of the book traces the resistance to the idea of zero from the early Greeks and Egyptians to Aristotelian-influenced Christianity. None of these cultures’ belief-systems could allow for the concept of the void, of nothingness. Christianity had absorbed Greek philosophy and one of the elements of this philosophy was the aversion to the idea of nothing. The Greeks did not believe that nothing or infinity existed. Even though the Bible begins with God creating the universe out of the void, the Judeo-Christian tradition ignored this to follow the Aristotelian credo that there is no void and there is no infinity.
Zero was heretical to the Catholic church. Only with the Renaissance did zero become accepted in Europe. With the Reformation came the loosening of strictures against free thought, and the European mind opened up to new ideas. With the introduction of zero began the advances in mathematics and science that have led to the technological civilization of today.
But the concept of zero is a latecomer to our culture and we have not completely integrated it into our cultural paradigm. Look at a computer keyboard. Zero is not in its proper place before 1 where it belongs; it is dangling up above 9. Look at a telephone. Zero is stuck below the three-by-three keypad of numbers in a limbo symbol-land of asterisk and pound sign.
The author goes on to trace the development of science, using zero as the focal point, up to modern-day quantum physics. Quantum physics gives an understanding of zero analogous to white light. As white light contains all colors, zero contains all within it. There is no such thing as nothing. Vacuum is not nothing; it is everything.
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LibraryThing member kcshankd
Do they still have bookclubs? This was part of a set of books on numbers: pi, i, ln2, golden ratio that was an introductory offer in the early aughts. I've resolved to read them this year.
This is a great, readable account that starts with paleolithic counting sticks and ends up in string theory. I
There was one rambling two page section explaining Aristotle's idea of the cosmos and perfection that repeated the same points three times - it read as if a set of lecture notes were dropped on the floor and hastily retrieved. Otherwise well worth the effort.
This is a great, readable account that starts with paleolithic counting sticks and ends up in string theory. I
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could mostly follow along, only giving up on Riemann spheres and the different sized infinities of real and imaginary numbers - there are apparently infinitely more imaginary numbers than the infinite set of real numbers. Um, okay math, I'll take your word for it.There was one rambling two page section explaining Aristotle's idea of the cosmos and perfection that repeated the same points three times - it read as if a set of lecture notes were dropped on the floor and hastily retrieved. Otherwise well worth the effort.
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LibraryThing member pieterpad
A little glib and concept-driven, linking such diverse topics as cosmology, calculus, and single-point perspective through a common dependence on the concept of zero. It's an attractive idea, but not pursued very consistently. The "danger" of the title, for example — that the idea of void (and
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its opposite, infinity) was just too weird and threatening to be accepted in many cultures — promises to offer insights into the history of ideas and knowledge, but the author is content to state his case and rarely enlarges on its historical significance. He's particularly sketchy on the ancient Greeks, but does write interestingly on Renaissance and early modern thinkers on the subject. The style is brisk, sometimes gee-whiz, and often repetitive, by no means up to such writers as George Gamow and James Gleick. There is an extensive bibliography and the book seems well indexed. Show Less
LibraryThing member TeenieLee
Guess what? The Biography of Zero is just as awesome as you think it might be.
LibraryThing member heinous-eli
Highly accessible, entertaining, and informative, the book is humerous. I first read it as a high school freshman and it is no less interesting now. Much of the information I gleaned on first reading is still with me.
LibraryThing member fpagan
Not just zero, but also infinity. And not just pure math, but also quantum physics, relativity, black holes, cosmology. A relatively easygoing romp.
LibraryThing member MaowangVater
Starting with the Egyptian and Greek geometricians Seife relates the history of a number with very peculiar properties and its polar opposite, infinity. That makes this a book about nothing and everything. He uses it to mathematically prove that Sir Winston Churchill was a carrot and includes
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instructions on how to “make your own wormhole time machine.” For the most part he uses drawings rather than mathematical formulae to illustrate concepts, making this a very accessible book for the non-mathematicians among us. Show Less
LibraryThing member pratchettfan
An intriguing look at the history of a special number, zero. Written in an easily digestible form it gives a great overview over the clash of philosophies which happened around zero and what effects of them we still face today. Not only for science and math buffs!
LibraryThing member rcgamergirl
I found the first part of this book interesting, as I had never realized how radical the idea of zero was considered. The rest of it I loved; it brought back many pleasant memories of my Philosophy of Science and Vistas in Astronomy courses. The only complaint I had was that I wanted more details
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about the topics (and that’s not bad for an introductory book)! Show Less
LibraryThing member M.Campanella
An interesting little book which gives you an extraordinarily insightful look at the History of Mathematics, how it progressed in societies and how societies progressed with it. It is also a nice way to gage just how well you know the subject. I know mathematics at about the level of the
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Renaissance. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jacenschimmel
The book explorers the history of zero as a number. It begins with ancient civilizations including the Babylonians, Mayans, Egyptians, and Greeks, explaining how zero was born out of necessity in some cultures and rejected by others. It then follows the numbers treatment throughout history
I found the writing easy to follow and fairly engaging. The mathematics should be easy for anyone who understands basic arithmetic and a little bit of algebra. It has some helpful illustrations used to explain some of the more abstract concepts which require a good visualization. There are several appendices explaining some concepts which are interesting and related, but not essential to understanding the use of zero in certain contexts.
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commenting on why and how its usage changed and touching on the related concept of infinity. In the last few chapters the author explores how zero and infinity affect us at a cosmic level noting the important questions relating to the two which remain unanswered by science.I found the writing easy to follow and fairly engaging. The mathematics should be easy for anyone who understands basic arithmetic and a little bit of algebra. It has some helpful illustrations used to explain some of the more abstract concepts which require a good visualization. There are several appendices explaining some concepts which are interesting and related, but not essential to understanding the use of zero in certain contexts.
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LibraryThing member sarahfrierson
I recommend this book not because you will enjoy reading it. In fact, I guarantee you will not. But it is a book that everyone should read. Don’t get me wrong, it is a wonderfully well-written book and it will fly by from the moment you read the first chapter, but it is very painful have to
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experience even a moment of what Abdulrahman Zeitoun experienced during and after Hurricane Katrina. Eggers is able to masterfully tell this story that touches on family, faith and the responsibility of a government, all while giving the readers a chance to step into the shoes of one who lived it, if only for a moment. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Two stars represents on Goodreads "it was okay" and I think that's about right. Yet that feels too low, because I did get through this book, and that usually represents at least a three to me--that I liked it--unless I find an ultimate WTF moment. If I was tempted to mark it lower, I think it's
At the same time there were tidbits throughout I did find interesting--sometimes fascinating--such as the "Casimir effect" of Quantum mechanics that some speculate could be used to power starships. The thing is those familiar areas? I think Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan explain and describe them better--and those things not familiar are I think due more to the fact this was published in 2000--so it has more recent findings included than Sagan's Cosmos (1980) or Hawking's A Brief History of Time (1988). So as a science book it didn't impress me--and I just don't find this in the running for a great history book either--where it felt superficial. It was cool to learn Arabic Numerals should actually be known as Indian--because that's where the Muslims got them from--and that the Indians got zero from the Babylonians who were using it in 500 BC--but I felt the history part of zero in the book could be encapsulated in a few pages, so much so the title is almost a misnomer. Neither as science or history did this rock my world.
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that I found this book so uneven. I'm not sure exactly what kind of background in mathematics would be ideal to enjoy this book. I made it to differential calculus in college, and it didn't break me, but it's been a long time since then and at this point I doubt I could solve an equation beyond simple algebra. There were parts of this book where I felt absolutely lost, particularly Chapter Six "Infinity's Twin" on projective geometry, set theory and transfinite numbers, yet so much else, even in later chapters, felt too elementary for anyone with just a high school education--or at least too familiar. And really, I think he was pushing it in trying to embrace the science of everything through the lens of the concept of zero.At the same time there were tidbits throughout I did find interesting--sometimes fascinating--such as the "Casimir effect" of Quantum mechanics that some speculate could be used to power starships. The thing is those familiar areas? I think Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan explain and describe them better--and those things not familiar are I think due more to the fact this was published in 2000--so it has more recent findings included than Sagan's Cosmos (1980) or Hawking's A Brief History of Time (1988). So as a science book it didn't impress me--and I just don't find this in the running for a great history book either--where it felt superficial. It was cool to learn Arabic Numerals should actually be known as Indian--because that's where the Muslims got them from--and that the Indians got zero from the Babylonians who were using it in 500 BC--but I felt the history part of zero in the book could be encapsulated in a few pages, so much so the title is almost a misnomer. Neither as science or history did this rock my world.
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LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
No other number can do so much damage, so says Charles Seife. He tells you this as he is explaining the Golden Ratio, how Winston Churchill is equal to a vegetable, and how you can make your very own wormhole. Mathematics, religion, philosophy, art, engineering, history: they all connect to zero.
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Mathematics is a more obvious element, but take religion: Shiva, one of the three gods in the Hindu triumvirate, represents nothing because Shiva's role is to destroy the universe in order to perpetually recreate it. Seife goes deep to illustrate the importance of the zero and how, historically, it created as well as calmed chaos. Zero is historical and humorous, informative and even a little emotional. Show Less
LibraryThing member ljhliesl
"Killing Archimedes was one of the biggest Roman contributions to mathematics." (52)
"Indian mathematicians transformed [zero], changing its role from mere placeholder to number." (66)
"A Polish monk and a physician, Copernicus learned mathematics so he could cast astrological tables, the better to
"What do these six extra dimensions mean? ... They don't measure anything that we are accustomed to. ... They are simply mathematical constructs that make the mathematical operations in string theory work in the manner that they have to." (197) That's it. My brain's full.
0 = �Ã_ÂÃ_ÂÃ_
"Indian mathematicians transformed [zero], changing its role from mere placeholder to number." (66)
"A Polish monk and a physician, Copernicus learned mathematics so he could cast astrological tables, the better to
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cure his patients with." (88) Really? Well, if memory serves Newton was an alchemist, so okay. "What do these six extra dimensions mean? ... They don't measure anything that we are accustomed to. ... They are simply mathematical constructs that make the mathematical operations in string theory work in the manner that they have to." (197) That's it. My brain's full.
0 = �Ã_ÂÃ_ÂÃ_
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2000
Physical description
256 p.; 8.9 inches
ISBN
067088457X / 9780670884575