Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Seife explains that in 1997 the USS Yorktown, a massive warship, was brought to a halt not by any weapon of war or mechanical breakdown but by an overlooked zero in the code controlling the engines. Seife claims that this astonishing incident is but a mild demonstration of the power of zero. Zero challenges entire cultures, philosophies, and scientific paradigms. Zero is perilous and therefore often resisted.

Seife outlines his book as “the story of zero” (2), a chronological account of the idea from its first discovery through centuries of debate over its validity and importance to its present involvement in the greatest scientific controversies and inquiries. Seife indicates that two additional important takeaways from this story are the intricate relationship between zero and infinity and zero’s power to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

In subsection “Life without Zero,” Seife notes that most ancient people had no concept of zero. He explains that zero had no practical purpose: “You never need to keep track of zero sheep or tally your zero children. […] This is why people got along without zero for so long” (8). Even the Egyptians, whose mathematical talents enabled them to invent a solar calendar and use