Interviewer:
Looks like they are worshiping zero down there…. Oh, I get it. By “nothing” he means “zero”, so he’s asking, “Is zero sacred around here?” Haha…
Cartoonist:
What can I say? Zero is a hole-y number…
Interviewer:
Because… it has a big hole in it? I wouldn’t really call that “math”. Isn’t there something deeper here?
Cartoonist:
It took humankind a long time to understand zero as a number, but once established, zero became central to mathematics. It’s critical for our place value system and is the origin of the number line. It’s arguably the most important number!
Interviewer:
Gives new meaning to the phrase “from zero to hero.” I’ll give you a pass on this one. Looking forward to next week’s Off the Number Line cartoon!
Interested in learning more about the history of mathematics? Check out these interesting facts about math in ancient Africa.
Matthew Peterson, Ph.D., is Co-founder and Chief Research & Development Officer at the MIND Research Institute. James Huang is Senior Visual Designer at MIND Research Institute.
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