A fascinating history of the number zero. From its beginnings in Mesopotamia -- where the Sumerians first conceived of this concept -- to its subsequent development by the Greeks, Indians and Arabs, Kaplan outlines the wonderful story of this curious "nothing" that somehow exists. From a symbol signifying the "absence" of a number / something, to its eventual development as an integer in its own right within positional notion, this book explains why the creation of zero was one of the most important developments in mathematics, and the very important role that it plays in such areas as algebra and calculus.
3 out of 5 stars
