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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Who invented the concept of zero?


Who invented the concept of zero?

It is interesting that the concept of zero or nothing has had such a great impact on the progress of mankind! Although there is no proof of the identity of genius who discovered this concept, it is accepted that zero was invented in India around the 5th century AD, by Aryabhata, the first great astronomer of India.


From the earliest times, man has tried many different methods to write numbers and count. The Greeks used letters of their alphabet and Egyptians drew appropriate pictures to denote quantities. The Romans devised a complicated system. They used X to represent 10, ‘C’ to mark 100 and M for 1000. The Indian had invented a far better number system but without zero, long before the birth of Christ.


Later, after zero was invented, Arab traders carried to Europe about the year 900 AD. The invention of zero became the turning point in the development of culture and civilization. It made higher Mathematics and elaborate calculations possible.


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