The Nothing That Is: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of The Nothing That Is, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Zero has a surprising history
Kaplan tells the story of zero, showing that the idea of nothing took a long time to develop.
Many civilisations struggled with how to represent absence. The journey took thousands of years.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Babylonians used a placeholder
Kaplan describes how Babylonian scribes used a mark to show empty places in numbers.
It was a placeholder, not yet a number in its own right. Context had to show the missing place.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
The Greeks were wary of nothing
Kaplan explains that Greek thinkers were uncomfortable with the idea of nothingness.
Their philosophy made it hard to accept zero as a number. Philosophers argued about whether a void could exist at all.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
India made zero a number
Kaplan describes how Indian mathematicians treated zero as a number with its own rules.
This step was crucial for modern arithmetic. Brahmagupta set out how zero behaves in sums and products.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
The Maya invented zero too
Kaplan describes the Mayan use of zero in their calendar calculations.
Their independent invention shows how useful the concept was. They had no contact with the Old World's inventors. Invention happened twice.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Europe was slow to accept zero
Kaplan describes how zero reached Europe through Arab scholars and writers like Fibonacci.
Some resisted it, but merchants found it very practical. Accounting and trade made the new numerals popular over time.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Zero links to infinity
Kaplan explores how zero connects with ideas of infinity and the infinitely small.
These ideas became central to calculus. Mathematicians learnt to handle these quantities carefully over centuries. Calculus depends on them.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Nothing became essential
Kaplan concludes that zero, once strange and suspicious, became indispensable.
Its story shows how abstract ideas change the world. Kaplan writes with humour and a love of ideas. It is never dry.
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