Prompt: Tell us about zero.
Zero, zilch, zip, nada, naught, nil - frequent expressions used to express nothing or a lack of something. It is a concept often not thought about today. However, some of the greatest thinkers of the past spent a lot of time contemplating nothing. It was these thoughts that allowed the Arabic numeral system to gain prevalence in the western world, spreading over continents through the transportation of goods and the waging of wars. Today, many modern concepts and technologies rely entirely on the existence of zero. Zero, one of the most significant numerals in modern mathematics, shows that nothing really can be something.
Ancient empires of the Fertile Crescent developed the first numerical systems. In some systems, large quantities used a special symbol as a placeholder. Others did not use place holders at all. These number systems were primarily used to invoice livestock and goods, not necessitating the use of zero. The Ancient Greeks used a numerical system without zero or a placeholder. Although simple math using such a system is very complicated and ...
Chasing Zero is a documentary which was meant to both educate the viewer on the prevalence of medical harm as well as to enlighten both the public and health care providers on the preventability of these events (Discovery, 2010). The documentary expounded on the fact each year more people die each year from a preventable medical error than die due to breast cancer, motor vehicle accidents or AIDS (Institute of Medicine, 1999). Medical harm can result from adverse drug events, surgical injuries, wrong-site surgery, suicides, restraint-related injuries, falls, burns, pressure ulcers and mistaken patient identities (Institute of Medicine, 1999). Incidences of medical error have been reported in the media for many years. The most startling revelation in the documentary is how common medical errors are and how preventable they are.
...t actually be dead. “And here is the one good thing: / If [Zero is] alive, then so, briefly, are [the children]” (7). This abandonment of reality did not necessarily happen or may have been transient, but Zero simply maintains its existence as a possibility.
Values -Everyone has them. Where do those values come from? In literature, one can find the answer to that question by taking a close look at characters and their values. They can be compatible to real life experiences. Look at the two stories, "Abuela Invents the Zero" by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The main characters in the stories are Constancia from "Abuela Invents the Zero" and the Four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth from Little Women. These two stories demonstrate how Experiences can shape, and change values.
Perception is a concept that we take for granted in our everyday lives. We assume that what we perceive are the physical properties of the objects we encounter. George Berkeley, through his work Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous , questions these notions of what is truly real. Berkeley voices his opinion through the character Philonous, who assumes a very similar role to Socrates in the Platonic dialogues. First, it is necessary to distinguish between different types of sensory perception for clarity’s sake. Philonous systematically shows where all sensory perceptions break down to qualia within the mind in the beginning of his dialogue, first with secondary qualities, and then primary qualities. To explain our sense of objective reality, Philonous refers to an ultimate observer, who observes everything, at all times. There are however some issues with Berkeley’s idealist theory, as I will explore at the end of this paper.
Fractions have been a around long enough for me to understand that I do not like them, but they play a significant part in simplifying, for some, division of goods or time. There is no one person who can be credited with the invention of fractions, but their use has been traced back as early as 1000 BC, in Egypt--using the formula to trade tangibles, currency, and build pyramids.
“Mindfulness is described through systematic mental training that develops meta-awareness (self-awareness), an ability to effectively modulate one 's behavior (self-regulation), and a positive relationship between self and other that transcends self-focused needs and increases prosocial characteristics (self-transcendence).”
The mathematicians of Pythagoras's school (500 BC to 300 BC) were interested in numbers for their mystical and numerological properties. They understood the idea of primality and were interested in perfect and amicable numbers.
After reading the novel, Less Than Zero, by Brett Easton Ellis, I now have an idea what three movies I would recommend for the main character(s) to see. I would recommend the movies I will soon name because they relate to the characters’ lives and the overall storyline of the novel. Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis is about a young man, Clay, coming back to visit his family during his winter break of college one year. During his winter break, in California, he reunites with old friends from high school and discovers their lives are drastically different from what they previously were like. During his visit he becomes entrapped by the drug and party scene that endlessly surrounds his old friends like, Trent and Julian. Clay manages to sound quite monotone as he describes the parties and events that take place during the novel. He regularly snorts cocaine during the novel and partakes in other illegal activities but still possesses a moral compass that we see enacted in one of the last scenes of the novel. As Clay is exposed to the more explicit realities of Trent’s, Julian’s, and other old friends lives we see the harsh and cruel reality of the LA party scene and our able to see the multiple depths of a character like Clay.
The more common notion of numeracy, or mathematics in daily living, I believe, is based on what we can relate to, e.g. the number of toasts for five children; or calculating discounts, sum of purchase or change in grocery shopping. With this perspective, many develop a fragmented notion that numeracy only involves basic mathematics; hence, mathematics is not wholly inclusive. However, I would like to argue here that such notion is incomplete, and should be amended, and that numeracy is inclusive of mathematics, which sits well with the mathematical knowledge requirement of Goos’
“Being and Nothingness” by Jean Paul, taken from the book Being and Nothingness. Jean Dean claims that Being is existing. Since being manifests to everyone, there has to be a manifestation of being as well. The theory of being is too large from our point of knowing that we don't see what its true meaning is, but like most things being must have a counterfeit which is Nothingness, Jean also claimed the idea of Nothingness meaning NOT. Nothingness has no being and can manifest itself to idea of being. Nothingness can turn any being or perpetual reflection of any sort out of existence.
Tubbs, Robert. What is a Number? Mathematical Concepts and Their Origins. Baltimore, Md: The Johns Hopkins
Due to archeological evidence we know that the African people were the first people in the world to use counting to keep track of their things, or time. Around 35,000 BC, in South Africa the earliest known tally stick was made, and was left in Lebombo Cave. 29 notches were cut into the stick. We don't know exactly what they were counting. Some people think they were counting the days from one moon phase to the next, but it could have been something else. Just as well. Now, what we do see is that by 35,000 BC people in South Africa had the idea of keeping records by making marks. “The Lebombo bone is a baboon fibula with a set of 29 notches carved in it. Archeologists believe these marks are evidence of a primitive calendar, measuring either the lunar or the menstrual calendar. This artifact is incredibly important for unders...
In the Roman civilization there was no symbol for zero. Romans used the word “nulla” for an empty space. The word nulla meant “nothing”; what our common day zero means. Romans had a very unorganized number system. It was full of flaws. With no use of zero, there was absolutely no way for counting above several thousand units. When the Roman Empire fell in 300 A.D., the introduction and adaptation of Arabic numerals, today's decimal numbers, took place. Thus, the invention of zero, nothing, was a huge leap forward in Roman history.
They constructed the 12-month calendar which they based on the cycles of the moon. Other than that, they also created a mathematical system based on the number 60 which they called the Sexagesimal. Though, our mathematics today is not based on their system it acts like a foundation for some mathematicians. They also used the basic mathematics- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, in keeping track of their records- one of their contributions to this world, bookkeeping. It was also suggested that they even discovered the number of the pi for they knew how to solve the circumference of the circle (Atif, 2013).
The history of math has become an important study, from ancient to modern times it has been fundamental to advances in science, engineering, and philosophy. Mathematics started with counting. In Babylonia mathematics developed from 2000B.C. A place value notation system had evolved over a lengthy time with a number base of 60. Number problems were studied from at least 1700B.C. Systems of linear equations were studied in the context of solving number problems.