Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
Chapter 3,4
Answer the following questions for yourself before Wed Nov 16.
1. Why were Indians able to accept the number zero as opposed to people in the
“western world?”
2. The author states on p. 71 that “the Indians realized that 1 ÷ 0 was infinite. Is
this true?
3. What did Fibonacci do for the number zero?
4. The author tells us about where the modern ideas of cipher, algebra,
algorithm, stock and bank come from. Describe their origins.
5. Describe how math and art are linked by the author in Chapter 4.
6. What led Copernicus to discover that the sun was the center of the solar
system?
7. How did Descartes use zero to unify the abstract ideas of algebra with the
concrete ideas of geometry?
8. On p. 101, why does the author say that “Pascal argued it was best to believe
in God, because it was a good bet?”
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
Chapter 3,4
Answer the following questions for yourself before Wed. Nov. 16.
1. Why were Indians able to accept the number zero as opposed to people in the
“western world?”
2. The author states on p. 71 that “the Indians realized that 1 ÷ 0 was infinite. Is
this true?
3. What did Fibonacci do for the number zero?
4. The author tells us about where the modern ideas of cipher, algebra,
algorithm, stock and bank come from. Describe their origins.
5. Describe how math and art are linked by the author in Chapter 4.
6. What led Copernicus to discover that the sun was the center of the solar
system?
7. How did Descartes use zero to unify the abstract ideas of algebra with the
concrete ideas of geometry?
8. On p. 101, why does the author say that “Pascal argued it was best to believe
in God, because it was a good bet?”