OOH …Here’s One Thing
Zero to Hero
by Jim Johnsen,
Managing Director, Johnsen, Fretty & Company
“Who put the glad in gladiator?
Hercules!
Whose daring deeds are great theater?
Hercules
Is he bold?
No one braver
Is he sweet
Our favorite flavor” (Ariana Grande)
So my first daughter, who knows me pretty well, and unfortunately shares some of my same eccentricities, buys me the “This Day In History” page-a-day calendar each year for Christmas (God I hate people who bring Christmas up before Thanksgiving, but there it is, I did it). After several weeks on the road, I finally planted myself at my desk and started tearing off pages on the calendar…but of course, I could not tear them away without at least glancing at the historical factoid of the day. Here is the one from October 4th:
“2017: Manuscript showing the earliest use of zero goes on display
On October 4th, 2017 a text known as the Bakhshali manuscript that holds the first use of the figure zero went on display at the Science Museum in London. The text was written on over seventy pieces of birch bark and was created as early as the third or fourth century. Before its display at the museum, the text had been housed discreetly in the United Kingdom since 1902 without knowledge of its being the first to use the figure. The text was found in 1881 in what is now Pakistan, and it is believed to have been created as a training tool for merchants who were trading across the Silk Road through China, the Middle East, and Europe.” (This Day in History Calendar)
Far out, Johnsen. It’s weirdly interesting, but did you take Bill Murray up on some of that Kentucky blue grass after your last loop? Well perhaps…but this October 4th entry got me thinking…Haven’t we all assumed that zero has existed forever? I mean, I never gave any thought to what the world looked like before the concept of zero existed. Have you? After all, zero is the absolute absence of everything. Who knew that zero is a fairly modern concept?
For the caveman, sitting around pondering zero wasn’t very practical. But wait a minute. When you are an ad man and the client finally paid off the balance of what he owed you (I know, wishful thinking), damn that zero feels good.
So on the eve of Election Day, this “new” zero got me thinking. Question everything!
Enjoy the short week, and a special shout out to Jim Vlasach and the entire crew for a great OAAP gathering this past week. Happy Voting.
jfco.com
Securities transacted through StillPoint Capital Member firm FINRA/SiPC
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