Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Besides his use of ordinary language and his careful explanations of comparatively simple concepts, what literary strategies used by Seife suggest a broad intended audience? You may consider tone, style, authorial voice, structure, and more.

Seife does not take pains to assert his credentials or point readers to precise sources. Yet he tells the sweeping history of a significant idea in human thought. How does Seife establish and maintain his credibility?

How do Seife’s epigraphs enhance his book? Consider how at least three examples relate to the work’s themes.

Considering the work as a whole, what is the significance of Seife’s cautionary statement that “[w]hile string theory might be mathematically consistent, and even beautiful, it is not yet science. For the foreseeable future, banishing zero from the universe with string theory is a philosophical idea rather than a scientific one” (199)?

How does Seife structure his discussion of the history of zero? Is it strictly chronological, or do other factors influence his ordering of chapters?

What is the importance of the subsection “Something for Nothing?” in Chapter 8? Why does Seife include this brief speculative detour in a book otherwise exclusively concerned with real history and real science?

Explore one scientific discovery, mathematical innovation, or philosophical venture or paradigm mentioned in Zero in deeper detail. Did the individuals involved consider the significance of their undertaking related to the idea of zero? How does Seife frame that undertaking for inclusion in his work?

Discuss the role of religion in Seife’s telling of the history of zero. What explicit relationship exists between the two? What implicit relationship exists, at least in Seife’s work?