Is Zero A Number..?

#51

Hmm...

I don't think the young ones understand the value of a good debate st4, I don't know about you, but to me its like an exercise...First off, it isn't THAT important...The effects of this debate will not cause the greate math heads to come together and say, "you know, they have a point, lets change how we view 0..."

What is important, is hearing the ideas and thoughts of others...I can tell that like many of us, st4 is freakin' STARVED of a good convo most of the time, its refreshing to talk to people that can actually form an intelligent opinion, even if it doesn't match your own...It's like sparring...You're not trying to win, but you're not trying to loose either...

I read that paper st4, and its probably 50% of what caused me to want to start this thread...Sometimes, people react violently to having their ideas challenged...I am sure I am one of those people...I believe the technical term for them is 'cultural truisms', or things that are so widely believed to be truth that they are never questioned....

But I find great comfort in knowing that even in a debate where we agree to disagree, both sides are seen, and just like that, your mind is opened to other possibilities, and new things...

#52

I'm sorry... who said i was open minded... ???
I'm right and your wrong and that is that....

...
...

damn, I feel like I'm 16 again!

LMAO

Bot · #53

Pfft. AYHJA's just trying to save face because he got his ass beat! lmao /tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />

#54

lmao @ everyone! you're all making my head spin! i suffered thru calculus, and i don't even want to THINK about imagingary numbers, or numbers in general! it's the summer! relax!

#55

Lol...spoken like a true High School graduate who hated school

Bot · #56

Ja, I gotta ask... if you don't think zero is a number... why does every set you upload in the G-Spot or Stacks start with zero? lol /tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />

#57

0 is the integer that precedes the positive 1, and follows −1. In most (if not all) numerical systems, 0 was identified before the idea of 'negative integers' was accepted.

Zero is an integer which quantifies a count or an amount of null size; that is, if the number of your brothers is zero, that means the same thing as having no brothers, and if something has a weight of zero, it has no weight. If the difference between the number of pieces in two piles is zero, it means the two piles have an equal number of pieces. Before counting starts, the result can be assumed to be zero; that is the number of items counted before you count the first item and counting the first item brings the result to one. And if there are no items to be counted, zero remains the final result.

While mathematicians all accept zero as a number, some non-mathematicians would say that zero is not a number, arguing one cannot have zero of something. Others hold that if you have a bank balance of zero, you have a specific quantity of money in your account, namely none. It is that latter view which is accepted by mathematicians and most
others.

#58

^^It sounds like you're taking this straight from a book or something

#59

I went to college. I got my Ed-U-Ma-Cation. I'm the first one in my family to gradiate from grade school.

Bot · #60

Shit... I was just breaking bawls... lol Didn't mean to restart the debate...