Zero

**under construction**

Abstract: Math is a silly linguistic religion. A neat little puzzle system that is just close enough to reality to confuse the shit out of people into believing it IS reality. Divide by zero being my main demonstration of this.

They say Chuck Norris can divide by zero, well dammit I think I can as well.

This article was written in response to a comic, which reminded me of countless discussion I have had on the subjects of mathematics.

Take Imaginary Numbers for instance. Hehe, the whole mathematics system is an abstraction, so I ask you, imaginary as opposed to what? Can someone mail me the number 2? Now I realize where they are going. It's a valid set distinction, but whats up with that name? How obtuse and narrow do you have to be to see that imaginary as a label inside an abstract system is hilariously silly?

My favorite example. Divide by zero. Total bullshit in my opinion. A grand example of indecisiveness, and inflexibility. A proof that the system is broken, and needs to be replaced or repaired.

Like a house with a missing bathroom. "Just don't open that door, yes the house is perfect and complete, so long as you don't open that door, opening that door is an "illegitimate operation".

I see where they are getting it of course, I'm not a moron. The simplest explanation I ever got was written in math. 5 x 1 = 5, 5 x 0 = 0, 5 / 1 = 5, 5 / 0 = “undefined”

Is everything the opposite of nothing? Is anything the opposite of nothing? This is clearly a complex thought, and that complexity is the root of my argument. In one regard something, anything, is the opposite of nothing, in that nothing is the absence of presence and something is the presence of presence. But in another regard infinite is the opposite of nothing. Think of a void. Now think of an anti-void being made of infinitely dense matter, extending in all directions for an infinite distance . How much rock is there? Infinite. See what I mean?

The point I'm trying to make here is that the answer is a philosophical one and math people present it as an objective provable settled truth. They gloss over it like we gloss over freewill. Only we have a good reason. Society itself would collapse if we didn't. Math collapsing is not all that tragic since we have alternatives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Kind_of_Science

We have a word for when people present a belief as an objective fact without being able to prove if. Religion.

And don't give me the proofs of division by zero being "non-sense". To me they merely add to my point. Take the following for example.

0x1=0, 0x2=0, (0x1=0x2)/0, 1=2

Wiki puts it thusly... “The fallacy is the implicit assumption that dividing by 0 is a legitimate operation with 0 / 0 = 1. “

Now, to my mind, it zero exists, which it clearly must, even as a placeholder for non-existence, then subtracting that placeholder becomes an attack on the system itself. IE it stops being zero and becomes "actual" nothing, or something representing nothing in a higher system.

I've read all that. They are invalid because my argument is the whole system of mathematics is flawed from the foundation up, thus using it to prove itself is exactly like saying the bible is infallible because the bible says its infallible and since its infallible it must be right when it says its infallible.

It's like this. How many 1s are in 5? 5. How many 0s are in five? It's gotta be infinite or none. Infinity or 0, the end. We're dealing with the ends of the road here. The place where the system breaks down.

How many times can I subtract zero from five before five can no longer supply zeros? Infinite. How many zeros can I add 0 to zero before the total value exceeds or reaches 5? Infinite.

We're talking about the thing which makes nothing different from something. This is philosophy, not math. If we could truly understand the thing that makes something different from nothing then we should be able to use that to develop a way to manifest imaginary object in non-imaginary space.

To me this is a great idea for a story, that could tie in magic and arcane formulas and demon summoning and "real" magic etc, and all thats cool, but its got no place being on a course requirement.

The system is just broken, or a new number needs to be invented. A number that is both zero and infinite at the same time. I propose we name this number Mu, or Zen. This "undefined" crap is elitist garbage. Doubly so since Math has a serious fetish for eponyms.

It's like building a car on paper and then discovering the wheels overlap the frame.

You don't just name the problem and keep going, you fix it or you start over.