Someone gifted me a printed T-shirt recently, one of those with a funny quote. It had a big Zero printed on it enclosing the quote “India's greatest contribution to the world of mathematics”. Now that's something we Indians are all proud of, aren't we? Well, to make things a bit funny, the print further said “We always knew we were good for Nothing!”. I laughed at the humor when I first saw the T-shirt and thanked the person who gifted it to me. “It is bound to generate a few smiles when I wear it”, I thought. And it did, actually, when I wore it to work one of these Fridays.
When I got home that day, I started thinking about why Zero was considered one of the greatest things to have happened to mathematics. What makes it more special when compared to any of the other numbers?
As the proverbial wisdom dawned upon me, I thought if we were to represent numbers in the Roman system I bet we would not have progressed this far scientifically or otherwise. Did you know that a number only as big as 8,888 is represented as MMMMMMMMDCCCLXXXVIII in the Roman system; you probably cannot imagine how one would represent the millions, billions and the gazillions? Don't think we would have even thought about numbers that big, to be honest, much like the Romans of the medieval times. We therefore knew that we needed a system that could depict large numbers with ease and we could definitely do with something a little less cumbersome, for sure! Thus, a number system that only used 10 digits (0-9) became popularly accepted since it could practically represent any finite number. Now, that was nothing short of a miracle, especially in a world that was accustomed to the Roman system or an equally inefficient way of counting!
Sorry, I digressed a little bit with all that math-talk. Well, can't help it sometimes, when my weakness for numbers and anything slightly math-like, takes over. Coming back to Zero, my first impression about this round little guy is that it's just another number. Zero actually represents “Nothing” or emptiness. Depressing, isn't it?
I remember when we were young, we would feel so bad if someone called us a “zero” - it was like something that was opposite in meaning to “hero”. We used to feel sad when we got out for a zero in a cricket match, let alone the humiliation the little boy had to face in his class when he scored a zero in a test that he hadn't studied for. Zero was never something that was celebrated, not something that anyone chased or craved for, at least not in those days.
Cut to the early 21st century, I started working for an Indian software major. As a programmer, I was always reminded by my boss that we had to strive for a “zero-defect” project delivery. They said this “zero-defect” thing was apparently related to Six Sigma or something of that sort that only the best in the industry were capable of achieving. Well, that was just the right trigger for an adrenaline rush in a newbie programmer like me, in those days. And there I was, chasing a “zero” perhaps for the first time in my life. And then we had our occasional tryst with the zero-calorie diet regimes that some of our young female (and some male) friends were trying out; the Size-Zero obsession that the youth were getting hooked on to, trying to emulate some of the Bollywood starlets; the zero down-payment motorbike that was on my wishlist, while waiting for my next pay-hike... Zero was not associated with depression any more; it was something we were now chasing, quite intently.
So what really changed? Zero still represented “nothing”. Was it just our perspective that had been transformed over the years? And there we were, with our new-found love for Zero.
As silly as it may sound, when a number actually represents emptiness, we are easily convinced that it depicts something that's devoid of any power or strength.
So what is the Power of Zero?
On its own, Zero is nothing but “nothing”, something seemingly insignificant. However, when a zero tags along with another small number, it boosts the value of the small number by ten times. For example, the number “1”, on its own, is a pretty insignificant number too; only slightly larger than zero. To appreciate the power of zero, and the value that it brings forth, you need to put them together, thus creating “10”.
Bingo! “1” just grew 10 times bigger, all credit to “nothing” (I mean, zero!).
Well, you might say zero cannot team up with another zero and increase its value. Actually, this team adds up to “nothing”! Wait a minute...what happens when the two zeros combine and team up with a small number like “1”. You guessed it. The value of the little number jumps a hundred times.
You can only imagine what wonders that a few more zeros, getting together, can do. Reminds me of the 'Minions'. For those who haven't heard about the minions (from the Despicable Me movie franchise), they're small insignificant imaginary characters themselves, work wonders as a team when directed by their boss.
Stretching this thought a wee bit more, I started thinking whether some of us are like the 'zero'. We all have big dreams and aspire to achieve some greatness and unparalleled success in our lifetimes by making a difference to the world we live in. Everyday, we want to renounce our mundane lives, throw caution to the wind, and take the plunge. So many of us so badly want to quit our ever-so-boring jobs, where we're slogging our butts off to sponsor our investors' vacations.
When will we try our hand at doing something else; something that brings us the satisfaction? Something that makes us feel that the work we do is making a difference to this world in a good way. How many of us will actually muster up the courage to take up the challenge and risk junking our existing careers to leave the comfort zone, to try something new and exciting? However exciting the new opportunities may be, it's really hard to let go of something that's easy, risk-free and does not involve a lot of struggle. “I have toiled really hard to reach here in my career, and I can't just throw it all away” - is a common excuse most of us have. Sadly, I consider myself, one of those unfortunate people. Are you one of them, too?
I feel like a 'ZERO' already!
Don't fret. Remember the power of 'zero'. All we need to find is 'The One'. The '1' who needs us, and our skills to become the '10'. I found my '1' in my spouse. She is an upcoming dancer who was also trying her hand at becoming an event organizer in early 2012. Something she had big dreams about, but was not sure what it takes to be successful at the new venture. Things began slowly, with just one event. I still remember, we did pretty much everything ourselves, to make the first event happen. She did all the networking, right from scouting for the artistes, to finding and convincing the sponsors, albeit just a couple of them. We found out how difficult it was, for a newly founded organization, to find takers. This was our first encounter with what start-ups face, I suppose.
I took up all the back-office duties, right from putting together the content for our invites, brochures, banner design, planning and arranging the logistics, and running the errands on the day of the event. I had never done most of these things in my life before. Now when I think about it, I believe when life throws you at the deep end, all you can do is either swim or sink. Guess, I learnt to swim.
I still remember driving around town to find things that we needed for the event, which we had neither planned nor were prepared for. All our inexperience in the area of event organizing was on full-display that evening. However, the audience was very forgiving, and congratulated us on a successful event and wished us many more to come. It was a valuable lesson for both of us, but every event that we've organized after that have been much easier and less stressful, thanks to some friends who we've made, during our journey.
Although I credit my spouse for the success of the organization in the last few years, and do not believe I've had a big part to play in this, she disagrees with me. She believes that it's our team that realize these events. My inputs at the planning and preparation stages, apparently are crucial to the way the event shapes us. My availability to execute the plans and manage the logistics around the day of the event also contribute to lesser stress for her, as she can concentrate on her tasks, apart from taking care of the guest artistes, who are in town for performing at our event.
This experience, that I involuntarily became a part of, while just trying to “be there” for my spouse when she needed the support, has taught me a big lesson in life. Although I nurture an unrealized dream of running a successful startup someday, in reality, it's heartening to know that I have already contributed, in a small way, to the success of a startup. Now, I truly believe in the power of the 'Zero'. I feel like I am the 'Zero' who would have never known my worth had I not teamed up with my 'One' to make the 'Ten' that we truly are as a team, owing to the success that we've had in the last few years.
I just wish that this story inspires the hundreds of 'Zeros' out there, to go out and find their 'One' and make it happen. No, you're not worthless. You have the Power; the power to script a success story.
Go on, prove it to the big, bad world which conspires to convince you that you're not good enough. Look straight into the eyes of those who doubt your power and ask them to “Buzz Off!”
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