this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2026
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I hear the same about the conceptualization of zero as a numeral that operations can be performed on (a crucial turning point in human thinking) which is also laughable. It simply was not compatible with the Greek understanding of mathematics which emphasized the discrete and trigonometric but fit very well into the more abstract view towards math on the Indian subcontinent. There's a reason why human discovery has global roots.
- Hey dude, you know you had two goats? Well, I took one
- Whatever I still have one goat left
- Hey dude, you know you had one single goat? Well, I took it
- Wtf, that doesn't make sense
๐ real dialogues recorded by actual ancient Greeks
Simple rule of thumb. If it has no real world use case in your avg dudes day to day.
It ain't getting discovered.
Now you also need to have that avg dude be someone of note, power and reach so that the discovery actually goes somewhere and doesn't just die with him.
The more esoteric and rarer those two things line up.
True that it takes a degree of imagination. We can draw a fairly direct line from Brahmagupta, Al-Khwarizmi, Fibonacci, Piero della Francesca, to Leonardo da Vinci describing the East to West transfer of zero and the decimal place value system.
It often comes down to what a culture considers "useful".