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SYSK Choice: The Evolution of Counting & Our Obsession With the Unexplained

Something You Should Know

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The Role of Zero in Numbers

It was really difficult to do calculations before we had a zero. The role that zero plays in making calculation so much easierad was one of the reasons these numbers just kind of caught on in europe ase. So at some point early in this whole number counting things, somebody must said, well, wait a minute. We're counting here. And as it turns out, we could count forever. There's no end to this. That had to be a fairly profound moment when you realize that counting can go on forever because there is biggest number.

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