Why the invention of 0 is an outstanding contribution to world civilization

In people's common sense, it seems that 0 appears at the same time and is in the same position as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. However, in fact, 0 appears and is used much later in time, and its role is quite special.

The meaning of "0" is multi-faceted. It not only represents the concept of "nothing", but also represents an empty space in the count of bit values. It is also an independent number that can participate in operations with other numbers.

The use of empty spaces to represent zeros in bit-based notation occurs earlier. The early Babylonian cuneiform documents and the China's Sanchou notation system in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period (about 500 BC) left vacant spaces without symbols. The Babylonians later (about the 3rd century BC) introduced a special mark to indicate empty spaces. The base 20 notation invented by the Mayans also contains symbols representing empty spaces, shaped like a shell or eye, and can be written in many ways.

Indians also used empty spaces to represent zeros at first, but later changed to using dots. In 1881, an ancient mathematical document (later known as the "Bakshali Manuscript") was discovered in an Indian village called Bakshali. Complete decimal numbers appeared in this document, in which a dot was used to represent zero. The dot representing zero later gradually evolved into a circle, the now common "0", a process that was not completed until around the 7th century AD. There is a stone tablet dating from 876 AD. It is known as the "Gwalol Stone Monument" because it is located in the city of Gwalol in the northwest region of Madhya Pradesh, India. The clear number "0" has been engraved on it. The Gwalol number system is: The Gwalol number system later developed into today's common number system 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0.

It can be seen from the above introduction that people's understanding of zero has gone through a long process. Among the ten digits in the decimal value system, 0 is the latest one to appear and be used.

Indian numerals were introduced to Arab countries in the 8th century AD and later spread to Europe through the Arabs (Europeans mistakenly called them "Arabic numerals"), with 0 spreading even later. However, at the beginning of the 13th century, the Italian mathematician Fibonacci's "Abacus" already introduced complete Indian numbers, including 0. After Indian numbers, including 0, were generally accepted by Europeans, they played an important role in the progress of modern science in Europe. Of course, the academic community is still discussing the source of 0 in Indian numbers, but in any case, the invention of 0 is an outstanding contribution to world civilization.

The importance of 0 is self-evident. The reason why ancient China mathematician Zu Chongzhi accurately calculated the value of π to seven decimal places in the 5th century AD, 11 centuries ahead of Europe, was that the China people left a space wherever there was a zero very early, so that there would be no confusion in calculations. Europeans did not know this for a long time. When the symbol 0 was introduced to Europe in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, it was considered a heresy and pagan symbol and banned it. Zero was a great discovery. Before the symbol 0 was used, Europeans were rarely proficient in the art of multiplication and division. Mathematics is an advanced culture. Without the discovery of zero, we may not be able to correctly perform multiplication and division operations.