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The {{w|ancient Romans}} are one of the model historical societies, well revered for their culture and life. A common misconception is that Romans did not have a concept of the number zero. The Romans were aware of the concept of zero, but there is no {{w|numeral}} for 0 in the {{w|Roman numeral}} system, as Roman numerals do not have place values like Arabic numerals. A value of ten or greater is represented in Arabic numerals using 0 as a placeholder for empty place values. Roman numerals do not have such a placeholder digit, and so did not have a numeral for zero; the word ''nulla'' was used to refer to "zero" in the sense of "nothing". Various sources indicate that this eventually gave use to '''N''' as a Roman numeral for "zero", and such is the case for modern users of Roman numerals. | The {{w|ancient Romans}} are one of the model historical societies, well revered for their culture and life. A common misconception is that Romans did not have a concept of the number zero. The Romans were aware of the concept of zero, but there is no {{w|numeral}} for 0 in the {{w|Roman numeral}} system, as Roman numerals do not have place values like Arabic numerals. A value of ten or greater is represented in Arabic numerals using 0 as a placeholder for empty place values. Roman numerals do not have such a placeholder digit, and so did not have a numeral for zero; the word ''nulla'' was used to refer to "zero" in the sense of "nothing". Various sources indicate that this eventually gave use to '''N''' as a Roman numeral for "zero", and such is the case for modern users of Roman numerals. | ||
| − | The title text refers to {{w|Hannibal's crossing of the Alps}}, a famous military campaign by Hannibal against the Romans. Randall claims that Hannibal needed to invade Rome to tell them to stop sending him so many emails. The reason for this was that Rome's email was sent from a "[https://www.mailjet.com/blog/news/the-noreply-dilemma-going-from-no-to-yes/ no-reply]" email address, so Hannibal had no way of replying by email, and had to tell them in person. The real reason for Hannibal to cross the Alps was because he wanted to conquer Rome. He did not conquer Rome, so he never sent his "unsubscribe" message. | + | The title text refers to {{w|Hannibal's crossing of the Alps}}, a famous military campaign by Hannibal against the Romans. Randall claims that Hannibal needed to invade Rome to tell them to stop sending him so many emails. The reason for this was that Rome's email was sent from a "[https://www.mailjet.com/blog/news/the-noreply-dilemma-going-from-no-to-yes/ no-reply]" email address, so Hannibal had no way of replying by email, and had to tell them in person. The real reason for Hannibal to cross the Alps was because he wanted to conquer Rome. He did not conquer Rome, so he never sent his "unsubscribe" message. (This is not the first time Randall has imagined strange "unsubscribe" messages; see [http://www.xkcd.com/1675/ 1675: Message in a Bottle].) |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
