Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Just a really cool look into mankind’s history with mathematics, specifically of course, zero. The stuff we take for granted as true was once avoided by entire civilizations. It also gives a unique insight into how we got to our current understanding and use of mathematics, like why we tend to count things in groups of 5. All in all it’s a fascinating peek behind the curtain on humankind and on math.

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea is a book based on an intriguing idea, the history of zero. It's something that most of us don't often contemplate. Some of us may know that zero, at least as a place holder, was invented/discovered by the Mayans, but beyond that most of us haven't a clue. At least I hadn't. Charles Seife begins his discourse with the earliest history of numbers. Counted things first appear in the archaeological record as marks on bones in the the stone age. Early civilizations had little use for a concept of zero; one rarely counts no apples or no sheep, etc. Ancient Egyptian mathematics seems to have been limited to measuring land areas and calendaric time for which zero in their method was unnecessary. In fact, it is the early calendar's persistent lack of zero in day and year counting that led to the confusion over when the 21st century started. The Babylonians likewise used math for celestial observation and calendars, but they also introduced zero as a place holder which simplified the writing of numbers and doing simple arithmetic. It is among the Greek philosophers that Seife sees an outright distaste for the concept of zero as nothing, a void. It conflicted with their particular notions of the universe and how it operated. Their aversion to it seems to have carried over into the Mediaeval European period by way of the offended established principles of the church. Seife follows the history of zero to modern times and discusses some of the ways that zero and infinity are the same and some of the ways that they oppose one another. He brings both quantum mechanics and relativity theory into the discussion, revealing some of the ways that looking at zero and infinity have led to advances in physics in more recent times. The author is a science writer with an MS in mathematics. As a journalist his style is both enjoyable and readable, making a complex subject more accessible to the average individual--that is, he doesn't bog one down with a lot of complicated equations. I'm no math wiz by any means, but I understood his thesis in its entirety. Those who've studied math in greater depth may find the book a little patronizing or at least a little too heavy on the verbal form and a little too light on the math.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. For everyone who has ever struggled with mathematics, this book shows that through history mathematicians also had their struggles with what might appear to be the simplest of numbers, zero. While focusing squarely on the history of zero, the book leaves the reader with so much more. By the end, you have an appreciation for the subtlety and beauty of mathematics. To illustrate, in one chapter Seife tells how a the student of the famous Gauss, using ideas found by a Frenchman who was imprisoned in Russia, found that zero and infinity are twins diguised as opposites. Seife's writing is clear and engaging. I read this book much like I might read a well woven spy thriller, finding myself spending that extra few minutes indulging in luxurious reading rather than proceeding with mundane necessities of life (i.e., sleep). And, as another reviewer has done, to contrast this book with another recent volume on the same topic, Kaplan's The Nothing that Is, the differences are remarkable. Succinctly, it is the difference between an enjoyable read and a grinding burden. Kaplan's book is unfocused, leaving the reader confused about where in time or space the historical events are occuring. Kaplan's side trips of literary fancy were very distracting to me and added little to the story. And story is the key. In Zero, Seife is telling a story and clearly enjoying telling it on its own terms. Kaplan did not tell a story, leaving the reader wondering why any particular part is being told. I understood from the start what Kaplan was trying to do, and I was bewildered that he failed so horribly. Seife's is, hands down, the better book on the subject of the history of zero.

I've recently read both Charles Seife's "Zero:The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" and Robert Kaplan's "The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero." They are at the same time very similar and very different. They each follow an almost identical line, presenting the evolution of zero chronologically, and they each make almost identical stops along the way. The difference is in how they treat the steps in zero's evolution which is conditioned by their differing metaphysical views. An illuminating example is how they each treat Aristotle's role in zero's history.Charles Seife, from the beginning, reifies zero: the author accepts the misconception that zero is some sort of actually existing mystical force resting at the center of black holes. He doesn't step back to take a look at the concept as concept. Nor does he appear to keep in mind that mathematics is the science of measurement, or that time is not a force or dimension, but merely a measurement of motion. This distorts his perspective, from which he attempts to refute Aristotle's refutation of the existence of the void: for Seife, zero exists and is a force in and of itself. In Seife's hands, zero certainly is a dangerous idea!Robert Kaplan, on the other hand, delves deeper. His work is informed by an obvious love for history and classic literature, and while this results in many obscure literary asides, one feels that this book takes part in the Great Conversation. As a result he steps back and takes a critical look at the true meaning and usefulness of the concept as a concept. Is zero a number? Is it noun, adjective, or verb? Does it actually exist outside of conceptual consciousness or is it exclusively a tool of the mind?Both authors follow zero's role in the development of algebra and the calculus. As a math "infant", this reader, having read Seife's book first, found that the explanations of these two developments by Kaplan cleared away the haze, which Seife's book was unable to do. I found both books to be illuminating. Seife's book contains much valuable historical information. He did his homework. If one were to read only this book on the subject, one would have learned a great deal about the history of mathematics. But if I were to have to choose one to recommend, it would be Kaplan's book. It is more informed, more seasoned, more honestly inductive in its approach.

I am emphatically NOT a math person - in fact I avoid math whenever possible. I started this book essentially under duress from a friend. It came as rather a shock that it was not only interesting, but understandable - even enjoyable. I always considered numbers static quantitative figures, used for counting and for plugging into formulas when forced. I never considered that numbers could have an impact on religion, philosophy, and science. They're just numbers - they don't do anything. But in reality, there was a cosmological shift required to accept a number that we take for granted. By following a chronological "biography" of zero, you see that the concepts of zero and infinity have caused as much intrigue, politicking, and murder as either love or money ever has. You see how civilizations, religions, and rulers rose and fell partly based on their acceptance of numbers. The impact of the concepts of nothingness and infinity continues today and the book gives insight into some really interesting concepts - wormholes in space/time, the nature of the universe, etc.There is some math, but the theories are clearly and wittily explained - even if you don't crunch the numbers, you'll get the concepts. And you can console yourself with the thought that you're in good company - even Einstein used a cosmological constant to make his formulas work out!(It's in the book.) The author clearly knows and loves his subject, and does a great job of sharing his enthusiasm with the reader.