Representing Something Out of Nothing: The Dawning of Zero.

Abstract:

:Zero stands for emptiness, for nothing, and yet it is considered to be one of the greatest achievements of humankind. This review first recapitulates the discovery of the number zero in human history, then follows its progression in human development, traces its evolution in the animal kingdom, and finally elucidates how the brain transforms 'nothing' into an abstract zero category. It is argued that the emergence of zero passes through four corresponding representations in all of these interrelated realms: first, sensory 'nothing'; then categorical 'something'; then quantitative empty sets; and finally the number zero. The concept of zero shows how the brain, originally evolved to represent stimuli ('something'), detaches from empirical properties to achieve ultimate abstract thinking.

journal_name

Trends Cogn Sci

authors

Nieder A

doi

10.1016/j.tics.2016.08.008

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2016-11-01 00:00:00

pages

830-842

issue

11

eissn

1364-6613

issn

1879-307X

pii

S1364-6613(16)30125-5

journal_volume

20

pub_type

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