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Charles Seife Quotes

United States

Charles Seife is an American author, journalist, and professor at New York University. He has written extensively on scientific and mathematical topics.

United States
Mathematicians

Random Charles Seife quote

2 quotes

Zero conflicted with the fundamental philosophical beliefs of the west, for contained within zero are two ideas that were poisonous to western doctrine. Indeed, these concepts would eventually destroy Aristotelian philosophy after its long reign. These dangerous ideas were the void and the infinite.

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea (2000)

The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea (2000)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Charles Seife (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.