Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Aristotelianism is the philosophy of the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle, which proved integral in shaping Western thought and the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages. Seife primarily discusses the cosmological aspects of Aristotle’s broad philosophy—his belief in an uncreated, finite universe lacking any void, with earth at the center and all the celestial objects in their proper spheres, spinning harmoniously. Seife positions Aristotelianism as the primary antagonist of the idea of zero throughout his book; the rise of one means the fall of the other.

Astronomical anomalies, black holes are infinitely dense masses spawned by stars that collapse under their own gravitational pull. Their mass remains finite but compacted into a singularity—a zero-dimensional point that breaks through the space-time fabric of the universe. Seife considers black holes exemplars of the power and mystery of zero and infinity.

Calculus is the mathematical study of continuous change. It involves differentiation (calculating rates of change in functions) and integration (calculating areas under curves). Seife elevates calculus as a perfect example of The Revelation of Zero; it enlightened those mathematicians who embraced its illogical division by zero about the laws governing nature.