Can a Language Exist Without a Word for Zero?
In short: A word for 'none', a mark for an empty place and zero as a number with its own rules are different things, and Roman, Mesopotamian, Maya and Indian records, along with a study of the Pirahã language, show how far apart they can be.
A 1:23 short film in the series “From Fingers to Qubits”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Academia.edu (hosting Daniel Everett's 2008 paper with Michael C. Frank et al. in Cognition, Elsevier BV), “Number as a cognitive technology: Evidence from Pirahã language and cognition”; Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Zero | Mathematical Properties, History, Early Placeholders, India, & Scientific and Philosophical Significance | Britannica”; EBSCO (EBSCOhost Research Starters), “Babylonian mathematics | Mathematics | Research Starters | EBSCOhost”; MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, “Brahmagupta - Biography”.
Sources used in this film
- Academia.edu (hosting Daniel Everett's 2008 paper with Michael C. Frank et al. in Cognition, Elsevier BV) — Number as a cognitive technology: Evidence from Pirahã language and cognition · View →
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Zero | Mathematical Properties, History, Early Placeholders, India, & Scientific and Philosophical Significance | Britannica · View →
- EBSCO (EBSCOhost Research Starters) — Babylonian mathematics | Mathematics | Research Starters | EBSCOhost · View →
- MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews — Brahmagupta - Biography · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Academia.edu (hosting Daniel Everett's 2008 paper with Michael C. Frank et al. in Cognition, Elsevier BV): Number as a cognitive technology: Evidence from Pirahã language and cognition
- Also: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Zero | Mathematical Properties, History, Early Placeholders, India, & Scientific and Philosophical Significance | Britannica
- Also: EBSCO (EBSCOhost Research Starters): Babylonian mathematics | Mathematics | Research Starters | EBSCOhost
- Also: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews: Brahmagupta - Biography
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