Is Zero a number?

[Victoria Columbari]

Calling all math, science and philosophers. I recently had a discussion with a math friend abouth this. So I'm interested in how other people feel about this subject.
Just FYI zero was not widely accepted in some ancient cultures due to it being connected to dark magic. There is a book by Robert Kaplan that explains the history and origins of zero which I will be checking out at the library.
Please keep the debate peaceful...lol

[Loxly]

1111 0000 0000 1110 1110 !

Without zeroes how could we end up with with nothing?

[Schmafty]

I'd have to say that yes, zero is a real number. You can add, subtract, and multiply with it and get real numbers as a result, and you can get zero as a result from other arithmetic operations.

I can see how it could be argued that zero is not a number in the same way that black is not a color. I would be interested in hearing if there are other reasons to not consider zero as a number.

[Victoria Columbari]

This is actually a hugely debated topic in math, science and philosophy (well numbers really in philosophy). I was truly surprised. Very interesting results when you google it.

[Bob McV]

it can be successfully argued that all things can be expressed as or represented by a numerical value.

but without getting too deeply into theory I would say that 0 in a numeric value.

you can debate anything

[Mr Peabody]

Victoria, Please sing along with this:

"Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me"

[GneissGuy]

I'd say there's really no debate any more about zero being a "number."

Remember "number" is just a word for a mathematical concept. If you want a word to designate "numbers other than zero," make up a new term, like "holy number" and use it to refer to your concept. I could similarly define a "gnumber" as "all positive integers other than 7."

For that matter, numbers and math are just philosophical exercises. Luckily for us, parts of math can be used to predict things that happen in the real world.

There are already many different words for different mathematical concepts related to numbers. You have cardinal, ordinal, rational, irrational, algebraic, transcendental, integers, real, imaginary, complex, prime, composite, negative, fractions, etc.

Mathematics is just a tool. Depending on what you're trying to do, you use different types of "numbers." Just be clear what type of "numbers" can be used for your particular mathematical exercise and stop worrying about the philosophical implications of which word you use.

At one time, negative numbers weren't considered numbers. Fractions weren't considered to be numbers at one time. According to legend, the ancient Greeks either drowned or exiled the guy who proved that the square root of 2 was irrational.

[Annika]

Originally Posted by Mr Peabody

Victoria, Please sing along with this:

"Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me"

[slocum]

What GneissGuy said is 100% correct. There is no debate among mathematicians: zero is a number.

However, zero is not a counting (natural) number

[actionjackson647]

zero is more of a number than i ,and i is a number even if its imaginary

[David.Douchehurst]

Hell, back in injuneerin' classes, 0 wuz a number an' i an' j an' k wuz vectors. Sum y'all needs ta go back ta skool! An' thet number is > 0. But it don't include meh!

[stankass]

Zero isn't a Natural Number. Natural Number are also called Counting Number (1,2,3,4...) But zero is an integer (...-3,-2,-2,0,1,2...)

There are some things that get weird in Group Theory regarding whether or not zero is a number, but I haven't heard of any real impact it has on us in real life. It's a fun thing to discuss though.

[slocum]

I have never heard of anything from Group Theory that would suggest that zero is not a number. Please expand.

[stevejones1969]

I don't know if it is a number but when you make that shape with your mouth I certainly count it.

[Pitfall]

http://youtu.be/zxYsgRsNg2s