Gradually the systematic and computer-like character of mathematics is being humbled to the creativity that emerges through the field. It can be astonishing just how much room mathematics has for creativity amongst its hidden ambiguities and mysteries. For example, the concept of nothing can be explored by creatively analyzing the number zero.
The capability of numbers to intersect reality and the abstract is what makes them confounding, but nonetheless, very useable. This same ability gives rise to paradoxes, such as the nature of the number zero. Of all the numbers, zero is one of the most difficult to define, and the meaning of zero can be lost as it easily escapes concrete association to any object. Be that as it may, mathematics could not exist without zero, but zero is more than just its function: it transcends mathematics.
Zero is a representation of something very simple: nothingness. Zero means a lack of value, for, as William Byers puts it, zero’s “presence implies an absence” (Byers 101). However, zero itself is not nothing. It is a concept, and therefore it is something, but by meaning, it is nothing. Despite zero’s ambiguity, it has a variety of functions. For instance, one function of zero amongst other numbers is to serve as a placeholder in the number line, the point of balance between positive and negative numbers. Another use of zero is to allow the outcome of an operation to have no value, such as two subtracted from two. Zero should be recognized for what it does and also what it means.
The nothingness about zero is fascinating, and so is what it does to challenge our vocabulary, and our conceptions about symbols, meanings, and math. It inspires one to look outside of mathematics for presences that imply absences, to look for zeroes in our world. However, zero does not seem to exist elsewhere; it exceeds reality and represents pure emptiness, which does not exist. Even clear space is occupied by air, a sort of matter. Also, zero does not demand anything to replace it, such as -1: it just is. Such a solid concept is so profound, and the fact that it is in itself a contradiction is even more astonishing.
The nothingness about zero is fascinating, and so is what it does to challenge our vocabulary, and our conceptions about symbols, meanings, and math. It inspires one to look outside of mathematics for presences that imply absences, to look for zeroes in our world. However, zero does not seem to exist elsewhere; it exceeds reality and represents pure emptiness, which does not exist. Even clear space is occupied by air, a sort of matter. Also, zero does not demand anything to replace it, such as -1: it just is. Such a solid concept is so profound, and the fact that it is in itself a contradiction is even more astonishing.
Thus, zero demonstrates the possibility for logic and contradiction to coincide in a standard system. It also serves as an idea to allow us to contemplate nothingness in general, and contradiction in life. For instance, we have a fear of nothingness, such as in death, but when the concept of zero is applied, it is seen that nothing is nothing to be scared of, for “the content of that fear is unknown” (Byer 99). Thus, zero has the ability to serve as a vehicle for philosophical musings. We also need the concept of nothingness for our rationality and language as a foundation: things cannot be built upon unless it is understood that something did not exist beforehand. Numbers are remarkable and should be recognized and embraced for their functionality and indefiniteness, as zero has shown how it is fundamental for its use in math, but also for our comprehension of the nothing.
Works Cited
Byers, William. How Mathematicians Think. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print.
Gowers, Timothy. Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.
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