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in reply to Re^3: In base 1, the number after 0 is:
in thread In base 1, the number after 0 is:

In what sense is zero not a quantity?

A quantity is an amount. Nothing is the absence of amount. While we use 0 as if it were an amount, and sentences that use it are understood quite well, it changes not that nothing is not the something required to have an amount.

would you consider the empty set a set

I do not know set theory.

I think it'd be more accurate to say that it's NULL to NULL

I guess that humor doesn't work on you. Congratulations, you broke the joke.

  • Comment on Re^4: In base 1, the number after 0 is:

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Re^5: In base 1, the number after 0 is:
by tobyink (Canon) on May 01, 2014 at 23:46 UTC

    You're not alone in having the idea of zero not being a number, but merely a digit. Many great mathematicians and philosophers have shared this idea.

    However, they've mostly been dead for centuries. Since the 17th century, the idea that zero is a number has been fairly uncontroversial in mathematical circles.

    If you want something that is not a number but kinda like a number, I can offer you ∞. And really, you can't ask for more than that, can you?

    use Moops; class Cow :rw { has name => (default => 'Ermintrude') }; say Cow->new->name
[reply]

      That is a well-written, amusing reply. Thank you. :)

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