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Did any number cause as much trouble as zero? It stranded ships; it scrambles the brains of mathematicians, calendar users and computers; it even got itself banned in Florence. Math(s) communicator and drag queen Kyne explains the Terminator of numbers.
EXTRA MATERIALS:
This episode goes with the recent one with Stephen Chrisomalis about the history of numbering systems, Num8er5. From the show’s early days, there’s an episode about the history of spaces. Oh, and yours truly made the mistake about 0BC/0AD in AD/BC (still cringing about it tbqh), although in compensation there’s some interesting stuff about the history of calendars.
“Zero became so powerful it caused passions to ignite.”
“Without zero, modern electronics wouldn’t exist. Without zero, there’s no calculus, which means no modern engineering or automation. Without zero, much of our modern world literally falls apart.”
Allusionist alum Nancy Friedman writes about the origins of ‘zilch’.
About other marks and symbols used for zero.
Amir Aczel’s book Finding Zero comes highly recommended, and this little peek makes me even more intrigued to read it.
Submit requests for words you'd like me to investigate in the next episode at theallusionist.org/requests.
YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
hippuric
hippuric, adjective: denoting an acid, first obtained from the urine of horses, occurring in the urine of many animals, particularly in that of herbivores and rarely in that of human beings.
CREDITS:
Kyne is a math communicator and drag queen. You can find her on Instagram, TikTok, Youtube and Twitter @onlinekyne.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman.
The original Allusionist music is by Martin Austwick. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com, listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch, and hear more of his composition on the science podcast for kids Maddie’s Sound Explorers.
Find the show at twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/allusionistshow.
The Allusionist is an independent podcast. If you’re able and inclined to support the show, head over to patreon.com/allusionist.
