Is Zero Positive or Negative?
In short: Whether zero counts as positive, negative, both or neither depends on convention, from Babylonian gaps and Brahmagupta's rules of 628 to the +0 and −0 of computer number formats.
A 1:21 short film in the series “From Fingers to Qubits”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Zero | Mathematical Properties, History, Early Placeholders, India, & Scientific and Philosophical Significance | Britannica”; Encyclopedia.com (entries from The Gale Encyclopedia of Science), “Zero | Encyclopedia.com”; MATH93 (www.math93.com, M. Duffaud), a French middle-school (Cinquième) maths course, “5e_Chap3-Relatifs-eleve.pdf”; MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews, “Zero”; MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews, “Babylonian numerals”; Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Living Maya Time), “The Calendar System | Living Maya Time”; Penn Museum (Expedition Magazine), “Expedition Magazine | Maya “Long Count” Numbers”; MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews, “Brahmagupta (598 - 670) - Biography - MacTutor History of Mathematics”; MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews (article by Heinz Klaus Strick, translated by John O'Connor), “Brahmagupta”; Science Museum (London), Science Museum Blog; article by Roger Highfield and Matt Kimberley, 14 September 2017, “Illuminating India: starring the oldest recorded origins of ‘zero’, the Bakhshali manuscript”; Gardens, Libraries and Museums, University of Oxford (Bodleian Libraries), “Carbon dating finds Bakhshali manuscript contains oldest recorded origins of the symbol 'zero'”; Prof. W. Kahan, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley (lecture notes on the status of IEEE Standard 754, dated October 1, 1997), “IEEE754.PDF”; A. Sandu, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech (CS3414 course notes, 'Computer Representation of Numbers and Computer Arithmetic', 2019), “comp_arithm.pdf”.
Sources used in this film
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Zero | Mathematical Properties, History, Early Placeholders, India, & Scientific and Philosophical Significance | Britannica · View →
- Encyclopedia.com (entries from The Gale Encyclopedia of Science) — Zero | Encyclopedia.com · View →
- MATH93 (www.math93.com, M. Duffaud), a French middle-school (Cinquième) maths course — 5e_Chap3-Relatifs-eleve.pdf · View →
- MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews — Zero · View →
- MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews — Babylonian numerals · View →
- Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Living Maya Time) — The Calendar System | Living Maya Time · View →
- Penn Museum (Expedition Magazine) — Expedition Magazine | Maya “Long Count” Numbers · View →
- MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews — Brahmagupta (598 - 670) - Biography - MacTutor History of Mathematics · View →
- MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews (article by Heinz Klaus Strick, translated by John O'Connor) — Brahmagupta · View →
- Science Museum (London), Science Museum Blog; article by Roger Highfield and Matt Kimberley, 14 September 2017 — Illuminating India: starring the oldest recorded origins of ‘zero’, the Bakhshali manuscript · View →
- Gardens, Libraries and Museums, University of Oxford (Bodleian Libraries) — Carbon dating finds Bakhshali manuscript contains oldest recorded origins of the symbol 'zero' · View →
- Prof. W. Kahan, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley (lecture notes on the status of IEEE Standard 754, dated October 1, 1997) — IEEE754.PDF · View →
- A. Sandu, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech (CS3414 course notes, 'Computer Representation of Numbers and Computer Arithmetic', 2019) — comp_arithm.pdf · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Zero | Mathematical Properties, History, Early Placeholders, India, & Scientific and Philosophical Significance | Britannica
- Also: Encyclopedia.com (entries from The Gale Encyclopedia of Science): Zero | Encyclopedia.com
- Also: MATH93 (www.math93.com, M. Duffaud), a French middle-school (Cinquième) maths course: 5e_Chap3-Relatifs-eleve.pdf
- Also: MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews: Zero - MacTutor History of Mathematics
- Also: MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews: Babylonian numerals
- Also: The Calendar System | Living Maya Time
- Also: Penn Museum (Expedition Magazine): Expedition Magazine | Maya “Long Count” Numbers
- Also: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews: Brahmagupta - Biography
- Also: Heinz Klaus Strick, translated by John O'Connor, MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews (first publis: Brahmagupta
- Also: Science Museum (London), Science Museum Blog; article by Roger Highfield and Matt Kimberley, 14 September 2017: Illuminating India: starring the oldest recorded origins of ‘zero’, the Bakhshali manuscript
- Also: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford (published on the Oxford Gardens, Libraries and Museums site): Carbon dating finds Bakhshali manuscript contains oldest recorded origins of the symbol 'zero'
- Also: Prof. W. Kahan, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley (lecture notes on the stat: IEEE754.PDF
- Also: A. Sandu, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech (CS3414 course notes, 'Computer Representation of Numbers and Co: comp_arithm.pdf
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