Who Invented The Zero?

The credit for this goes to Indian mathematicians and the number zero first appears in a book about ‘arithmetic’ written by an Indian mathematician ‘Brahamagupta’. Zero signifies ‘nothing’ and the current definition calls it an ‘additive identity’.

Mathematically; x + 0 = x, i.e. 0 is a number which, when added to a number yields the same number.

When we go deeper, it becomes clearer that the things are much more complex. It wasn’t that somebody suddenly came up with the idea of the zero and the mathematicians throughout the world accepted it. Around 500 AD, Aryabhata, an Indian mathematician, devised a numbers system and the symbol he used for the number zero was also the number used to represent an unknown element (x). This system was confusing but the improvements continued and by 876 AD, the concept of zero was mostly understood and the symbol for it was ascertained.

The Indian mathematicians Bhaskara, Mahavira and Brahamagupta worked on this new number and they tried to explain its properties. Some were true and some were not. For example, Bhaskara correctly that stated 02 = 0 and 01/2 = 0 but he was wrong to have supposed that n/0 = Infinity. If n/0 = Infinity were to be true there would arise results which don’t make sense. One of them was 1 = 2 = 3 …….

The reason of this was that the Indian mathematicians could not conclude that no number could be divided by zero. The Maya people in present day Mexico knew and understood the concept of zero but because they were so much disconnected with the rest of the world civilizations, it had little impact on the rest of the world.

Source: http://www.thegeminigeek.com/who-invented-the-zero/

History of Mathematics

Mathematics is the science of numbers and there are several different branches of mathematical science including algebra, geometry, and calculus. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines mathematics as the science of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, and abstractions and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations, and generalizations.

Mathematics is not an invention. Discoveries and laws of science are not considered inventions. Inventions are material things and processes. However, there is a history of mathematics, a relationship between mathematics and inventions, and mathematical instruments are considered inventions.

According to Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times, mathematics as an organized science did not exist before the classical Greeks of the period from 600 to 300 BC entered upon the scene. There were, however, prior civilizations in which the beginnings or rudiments of mathematics were created.

When civilization began to trade, a need to count was created. When humans traded goods, they needed a way to count the goods and to calculate the cost of those goods. The very first device for counting numbers was the human hand, counting on fingers. To count beyond ten fingers, mankind used natural markers, rocks or shells. From that point, counting boards and the abacus were invented.

Source: http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventions/a/History-Of-Mathematics.htm