Without the number zero, Fields Medalist Laurent Lafforgue noted at the UNESCO Conference on Zero held in Paris in the spring of 2016, the bulk of mathematics literature would never have been written.

As Kaplan defines the difference above and as referred to by Lafforgue, the invention of the mathematical number zero (0), as distinct from the placeholder zero, is universally hailed as one of the greatest innovations in human history.

Zero helped to fuel revolutions in mathematics but also in science more generally. Zero as integral to the binary system proved instrumental in ushering in the Information Age. In one way or another, zero daily touches the lives of all seven billion inhabitants of the planet. Yet we know little about its otherwise inexplicable emergence in human history.

To date scores of scholars have studied extant evidence of zero’s earliest appearance accumulated piecemeal over the centuries - serendipitous discoveries that had come to light without targeted research. Historians of mathematics devoted much time and effort to compiling and analyzing available data intended for the professional community or popular works for the lay public.

Over the decades the scant facts available have been repeated time and again in books, articles and seminars without fresh research being conducted nor for that matter anyone even suggesting fresh research be done.

To the best of our knowledge there has never been undertaken an in-depth, systematic, interdisciplinary research program to find fresh evidence of zero’s invention in answer to the questions of when, where, why and who invented zero.

Consequently, scholarly disagreement persists to this day whether zero as number first appeared in ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, China, India, Indochina, or Central America.

Nor will the vexing question of zero’s invention be settled by rehashing the known data, which arguably is inconclusive. Only fresh research may accomplish that task. Fresh research guided by a novel working hypothesis to concentrate minds and focus efforts.