Aeon Video has a monthly newsletter!
Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
A history of nothing: how zero went from nil to something
From ancient trade to modern theoretical physics and computer programming, the history of mathematics closely mirrors the history of zero – first as a concept, and then ultimately as a number. Narrated by the UK mathematician Hannah Fry, this short animation explores how the evolution of the understanding of zero has helped shape our minds and our world.
Producer: Ed Prosser
Video by The Royal Institution
Animation: Andrew Khosravani
Narrator: Hannah Fry
Aeon is not-for-profit and free for everyone
Make a donationGet Aeon straight to your inbox
Join our newsletter
video
Evolution
Why making if-then connections might be the key to consciousness
5 minutes
video
Thinkers and theories
Bernard Williams on Descartes’s audacious endeavour to prove knowledge is possible
43 minutes
video
Ageing and death
When his elderly parents make a suicide pact, Doron struggles to accept their choice
19 minutes
video
Biology
To understand the limits of human senses, look to the wild world of animal cognition
45 minutes
video
Design and fashion
From sheep to sea – an ode to the iconic sweater that warms Cornish sailors
4 minutes
video
Knowledge
Yes, the Inuit have dozens of words for snow – but what does each one mean exactly?
6 minutes
video
History of science
How one of history’s most beautiful books was used to find fate in the cosmos
6 minutes
video
Evolution
Symmetry rules life on Earth – but it comes with many fascinating exceptions
9 minutes
video
Biology
There’s no one way for an insect to fly, but they’re all amazing in close up and slo-mo
7 minutes