ABQ – From Quad to Zero Mathematical and choreographic processes –between number and not number

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Notes

¹The title refers to the etymology of the word ‘abacus’, a Latin word that has its origins in the Greek abax or abakon (meaning ‘calculation table’, in the sense of a ‘square-table’ sprinkled with sand or dust, used for drawing geometric figures) which, in turn, possibly originated from the Semitic word abq, meaning ‘sand’.

²The word ‘zero’ comes from the Arabic sifr, meaning ‘empty or vacant’, a literal translation of the Indian Sanskrit shunya, ‘void or empty’. Indians became adept mathematicians around 3000 bc, but the usage of zero only became well known around the sixth century when Brahmagupta of Multan formulated rules of operation for its use. For 400 years from the sixth century, India was foremost in mathematics, and zero began its journey around the world. With the rise of trade among Arabs, Greeks and Indians, caravans carried more than goods to China, Arabia and Greece. Leonardo Fibonacci (c. 1170–1250), who grew up in Arab North Africa, is credited with introducing the Hindu decimal system to Europe. It it s one of the most important events in the history of mathematics.