In the grand scheme of mathematical paraphernalia, there are several useful concepts, or techniques, which have been invented over the centuries that help represent various physical and not-so-physical phenomena. Probably the best known and least appreciated is the concept of zero, introduced to Western "mathematicians" (who previously thought it unnecessary) through various Arabic texts. There is some hint that this and other such mathematical entities may have been known by some of the more ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, but the degradation by time and the elements makes it difficult to peer too deeply back into the fog of time to be certain. We do know that at least the ancient Egyptian, Indian, Chinese and possibly pre-Mayan cultures were aware of several such useful mathematical and engineering "oddities" such as p. In fact, the vestigial remains that survive from the Egyptian dynastic period in applied mathematics, engineering and chemistry still linger in our collective cultures today. Not the least of these is the possible reference to p in some ancient inscriptions as well as the embedded presence of p within the dimensions of the pyramids themselves; other basic scientific entities include our word for alchemy and chemistry, derived from ancient Greek Khemia = Egypt.

The next mathematical "discovery" of interest to us here occurred in the 16th century, with the "invention" (or perhaps reinvention) of negative numbers, which revolutionized mathematics yet again. Until that time, the concept of a negative pig, or cow, or boat...