That mysterious but important number zero

In two articles [BaiBor2011a; BaiBor2011b], two earlier blog posts [BlogA; BlogB] and a Conversation piece, we have examined the discovery and development of our modern system of decimal arithmetic with zero, which discovery we believe to be among the greatest of all historical mathematical achievements. It is certainly nontrivial, as evidenced by the fact that it escaped even Archimedes, that extraordinary genius of the ~300 BCE Greek culture who anticipated much of modern mathematics, including numerical analysis and calculus. And the impact of this ingenious discovery in our modern computer-oriented society cannot be overstated.

One key aspect of this history

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Proposed mathematical journal rating system

In response to the use of citation data in research assessments such as Excellence in Research for Australia, the International Mathematical Union (IMU) and the International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) are considering producing a mathematics journal rating system to mitigate the exploitation of commercial or national rating methods, see also the 2008 citations report and the 2010 best practice report. They write:

In implementation of Resolution 18 adopted by the IMU General Assembly in 2010: “The General Assembly of the IMU asks the EC to create, in cooperation with ICIAM, a Working Group that is charged with

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Mathematics and scientific fraud

[Note: A condensed and revised version of this article was published here in The Conversation, an online forum of academic research headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.]

From time to time, the scientific community is rocked with cases of scientific fraud. Needless to say, such incidents do not help instill confidence in the public mind that is already predisposed to be skeptical of inconvenient scientific findings, including biological evolution and global warming.

One notable case of fraud came to light in 2002, when Bell Labs researcher Hendrik Schon, once described as a “rising star” in the field of nanoelectronics, was accused of

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