Talk:Zero

I don't know that the months were named December and January back then... DanH 00:21, 7 July 2007 (EDT)

Conceptually introduced by Jesus?

This is quite puzzling, and would certainly benefit from a scriptural reference. I assume you don't mean Jesus saying something about some number that, when added to another number, yields that other number. That would definitely be impressive. I assume that, by "conceptually" introduced, you mean something weaker, like saying "There are no Samaritans in the temple". That use of "no" or "none" would certainly be a conceptual reference to zero.

However, Plato's Republic, written about 380 years earlier, says, very near the end of Book VIII:

“

So he [a leader] must quietly get rid of all these [former associates] if he is to rule, until not a single one is left, either friend or foe, who is of any use.

”

SamHB (talk) 19:48, 14 April 2017 (EDT)

The Plato quotation is interesting, but not terribly enlightening about zero. In fact, the Greeks generally had no concept of zero.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 16:11, 19 April 2017 (EDT)

I agree that the Greeks had no concept of zero as a number. But they had a concept of the simple notion of "no one is left". Did Jesus have a conception of zero that rose above the level of "there's no one here"? Can you provide a scriptural reference? SamHB (talk) 16:47, 19 April 2017 (EDT)

Yes, he did. I added an example to the entry.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 17:08, 19 April 2017 (EDT)

OK, I'll concede your point. Though I'm not satisfied that "if you plant seeds where birds will eat them you will get zero crops from those seeds" constitutes a conceptual understanding of what zero means. SamHB (talk) 23:49, 19 April 2017 (EDT)

I'll see if there are any better examples. But the message of this parable is stronger than you suggest. If an ideology is a "zero", then multiple it by anything and it will still be zero. Many of the parables are a contrast between zero and infinity, such as the Prodigal Son.--Andy Schlafly (talk) 00:12, 20 April 2017 (EDT)