Is zero a cardinal number?

Discussion in 'Number Theory' started by in2infinity, Apr 20, 2022.

  1. in2infinity

    in2infinity

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    Hi there. I was having a real problem finding out is zero was a cardinal number or not?
    This website says it is...

    https://www.yourdictionary.com/cardinal-number

    and this website says it is not?

    https://byjus.com/maths/cardinal-numbers/

    In fact the issue seems to be very unclear.

    Zero is not in the ordinal set as there is no ZEROth step. Is that right?

    I want to know is I am standing at zero, and a Take a step, Do I count the zero number, and is this a cardinal number?

    I apologise if this seems like a very simple maths question. Thanks in advance for your help..
     
    in2infinity, Apr 20, 2022
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  2. in2infinity

    MathLover1

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    The cardinal number of the empty set is is 0.
     
    MathLover1, Apr 24, 2022
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  3. in2infinity

    ddinunno

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    This is a frequent challenge in software program. It is said that, "programmers are often off by 1." - just for the type of issue you indicated. Where do I start?

    Is "next Sunday" the one coming up or the one after that?

    Is Maryland 1 state away from Virginia or - since they touch - is it 0 distance. Historically, some cultures would count Maryland as 1 and Virginia as 2. So, Virginia is two states away. (Of course, historically, Maryland and Virginia did not exist.) Also, historically zero did not exist.

    I agree that while 0 is not a counting number it is the cardinality of the null set.

    P.S. Historically 1 was considered a prime number. (How more prime can you get than 1?)
     
    ddinunno, Mar 31, 2023
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