*Without emptiness, wholeness has no meaning. Hence, zero and one are treated together:
ZERO = all/nothing, pattern, silence
- also known as nought, nada, nil, zip, zilch, oh, goose egg, null
- first of the numbers, last to be discovered
- In 976, Persian encyclopedist Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi remarked that if, in a calculation, no number appears in the place of tens, a little circle should be used "to keep the rows". The Arabs called this circle ṣifr, "empty", which was the earliest mention of what we know as modern zero. (Indian mathematician joke: "India contributed zero to mathematics.")
- zero did not spread to Europe until the 13th century
- "none" is short for "not one"
- cardinal numbers start at zero, ordinal numbers start at one
- ouroboros (snake eating tail) = eternal cycles, past propelling us into the future
- circle = zero and all, unity, integrated opposites, paradox of wholeness - good design engages viewer to participate in the paradox
- binary code = oscillates between on/off, all/none; translates nothing into something (also: morse code)
- 4′33″ is a three-movement composition by American experimental composer John Cage which instructs the performer to remain silent during the entire duration of the three movements of the piece
- Size zero in clothing was invented due to the changing of clothing sizes over time (referred to as vanity sizing or size inflation)
- zero is associated with absence and neutrality (neither positive nor negative)
- many typefaces make digit 0 narrower and more elliptical than capital letter O; sometimes digit 0 is a slashed letter O
- zero does not exist in Roman numerals
- dialing 0 on a telephone places a call for operator assistance
- in astrology, 0 is ruled by Pluto
- water freezes at 0°C (32°F)
- on a computer keyboard, Shift+1 gives you an exclamation point (!)
ONE = wholeness, completion, unity, integrity, consistency, form, oneness, creation, individual, aggressor, yang
- also known as uno, solo, first, foremost
- first visible pattern of energy
- single unit = single mark
- often symbolized as stroke/line or a dot
- one = the parent of all
- in math, any number multiplied / divided by one remains the same - wholeness always remains the same
- prime numbers are only divisible by themselves and one
- one is the first odd number
- Hebrew word for one, semel, means simplicity
- numeral one (1) is strikingly similar to first person pronoun (I) - both a single stroke
- one is atomic number of hydrogen
- 1 is usually dialed before making a long distance call
- in astrology, the first sign of the zodiac is Aries, the Ram (March 20 - April 19)
- Roman numeral is I
- in astrology, 1 is ruled by the Sun
- in playing cards, Ace is valued at 1
- "All for one, one for all" is the motto of the Three Musketeers
- "#1" is a child's euphemism for urination
- 1 ball in billiards is solid yellow
- "on the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree"
- on a computer keyboard, Shift+0 gives you a close bracket, )
