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Description
The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of ZeroA symbol for what is not there, an emptiness that increases any number it's added to, an inexhaustible and indispensable paradox. As we enter the year 2000, zero is once again making its presence felt. Nothing itself, it makes possible a myriad of calculations. Indeed, without zero mathematics as we know it would not exist. And without mathematics our understanding of the universe would be vastly impoverished. But where did this nothing, this hollow
A symbol for what is not there, an emptiness that increases any number it's added to, an inexhaustible and indispensable paradox. As we enter the year 2000, zero is once again making its presence felt. Nothing itself, it makes possible a myriad of calculations. Indeed, without zero mathematics as we know it would not exist. And without mathematics our understanding of the universe would be vastly impoverished. But where did this nothing, this hollow circle, come from? Who created it? And what, exactly, does it mean?Robert Kaplan's The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero begins as a mystery story, taking us back to Sumerian times, and then to Greece and India, piecing together the way the idea of a symbol for nothing evolved. Kaplan shows us just how handicapped our ancestors were in trying to figure large sums without the aid of the zero. (Try multiplying CLXIV by XXIV). Remarkably, even the Greeks, mathematically brilliant as they were, didn't have a zero--or did they? We follow the trail to the East where, a millennium or two ago, Indian mathematicians took another crucial step. By treating zero for the first time like any other number, instead of a unique symbol, they allowed huge new leaps forward in computation, and also in our understanding of how mathematics itself works.
In the Middle Ages, this mathematical knowledge swept across western Europe via Arab traders. At first it was called "dangerous Saracen magic" and considered the Devil's work, but it wasn't long before merchants and bankers saw how handy this magic was, and used it to develop tools like double-entry bookkeeping. Zero quickly became an essential part of increasingly sophisticated equations, and with the invention of calculus, one could say it was a linchpin of the scientific revolution. And now even deeper layers of this thing that is nothing are coming to light: our computers speak only in zeros and ones, and modern mathematics shows that zero alone can be made to generate everything.
Robert Kaplan serves up all this history with immense zest and humor; his writing is full of anecdotes and asides, and quotations from Shakespeare to Wallace Stevens extend the book's context far beyond the scope of scientific specialists. For Kaplan, the history of zero is a lens for looking not only into the evolution of mathematics but into very nature of human thought. He points out how the history of mathematics is a process of recursive abstraction: how once a symbol is created to represent an idea, that symbol itself gives rise to new operations that in turn lead to new ideas. The beauty of mathematics is that even though we invent it, we seem to be discovering something that already exists.
The joy of that discovery shines from Kaplan's pages, as he ranges from Archimedes to Einstein, making fascinating connections between mathematical insights from every age and culture. A tour de force of science history, The Nothing That Is takes us through the hollow circle that leads to infinity.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 12/01/2000
ISBN: 9780195142372
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 7.73h x 4.68w x 0.60d
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4.1 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Leave a toy for the dog when going to work, and no housebreaking when coming back
Color: Purple-Blue, Size: 2pcs
The dog is quite clingy. Every time it sees me put on my shoes to go out, it gets nervous. Since having this bear around, when it goes out, its attention is all on the toys, and when it comes back home, its mood has become much more stable.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2026
★★★★★ 5
My puppy's favorite toy
Color: Blue
I have an 9 month old lab. He LOVES these!! By far one of his favorite toys! Since he is a puppy they do not last crazy long. Usually a few weeks, but well worth it. They keep him occupied.. and gives me a 20+ min of fee time!!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Best toy ever
Color: Blue&Purple, Color: Blue&Purple
I have been through many many toys with my 4yo GWP. And she is not gentle with her toys. Normally a plush toy will last about a week before all stuffing is brutally removed and the squeaker is so worn out it resembles a limp noodle. Somehow, this toy has survived the last 3 months- squeaker still squeaking, no holes in the fabric, better yet there’s not stuffing to litter all over my floor for the vacuum to get stuck on! She loves this thing, she flings it around, tugs on it, catches it midair, loses it and finds it. Honestly 10/10. I wish I could buy stock in this toy.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Awesome toys my boys love!
Color: Blue&Purple
These are such a great value and my little dogs ADORE them! So far they aren’t chewed up, and they are super cute! They definitely love playing with them and I appreciate there not being stuffing all over. They love the crinkly legs and squeaker in the head.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2025
★★★★★ 4
No stuffing, but...
Color: Blue&Purple&Orange
No stuffing,which is nice, but not very durable. Dog broke through day 1.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2025
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