Zero was invented — it took humanity thousands of years to conceive of nothing as a number
The concept of zero as a number (not just a placeholder) was a profound mathematical and philosophical invention. Ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians had no zero — you couldn't calculate with nothing in their systems. Zero was independently conceived in Babylon around 300 BCE (as a placeholder), in Mesoamerica by the Maya around 350 CE, and as a true number by Indian mathematician Brahmagupta in 628 CE, who defined its arithmetic rules. Arab scholars transmitted the Indian system to Europe, where it gradually replaced Roman numerals. Without zero, algebra, calculus, binary code, and all digital computing are impossible.
Zero seems obvious once you have it — almost so obvious it feels like it must have always existed. Finding it took thousands of years to invent, required multiple independent civilisations to grapple with, and that one mathematician is credited with writing down the rules for calculating with nothing — makes zero feel like one of humanity's strangest intellectual achievements.
“Zero was invented, not discovered. Ancient Rome had no zero. Indian mathematician Brahmagupta wrote its arithmetic rules in 628 CE. Without zero: no algebra, no calculus, no computers, no binary code. 0️⃣ #OddlyHuman”