Welcome to the "Believe it or Not- That's Incredible India!" series. India is home to some of the most astonishing wonders in the world. The rich culture, heritage, food, scriptures, architectural marvels and scores of known and unknown facts come together to create this multicolored melange that is India. Throughout this month, read about the various believe it or not facts about India and know what goes into the making of this incredible country!
********************************
One of India’s most important contributions to the world was the invention of ‘Zero’. Aryabhatta, one of India’s and arguably, the world’s greatest mathematician and astronomer is credited with the invention and the concept of ‘shunya’ or zero. The concept of 'Shunya' meaning 'nothing' was in use in India as early as the 5th century. Before ‘Zero was invented, the western world used the Roman Numerals. But expressing various terms as Roman Numerals was confusing and elaborate in the absence of ‘zero’. It is astonishing how a mere digit could change the entire way of looking at things! A tiny inconspicuous number could now mean nothing and everything!
Brahmagupta formed the rules for using ‘Zero’. He formulated that Zero added to or subtracted from any number would remain the same, but a number multiplied by zero would be zero.
Zero turned out to be the biggest invention in the history of mankind! Without the concept of Zero, defining many concepts would have been so difficult. We cannot imagine place value systems, decimals, or even binary system and computer technology in the absence of Zero.
A tiny number it is, but the place it occupies is immense! Love it or hate it but you cannot ignore it! That's India's amazing contribution to the world!
Believe it or not - That's Incredible India!
 |
| source |
