Brahmagupta broke the barrier of the unknown,
creating something entirely new and abstract and giving it an identity.
Brahmagupta was the first to define zero and its operations. Although some civilizations before Brahmagupta had used the idea of zero, they never understood it completely; meaning it was never defined. It was never known as an actual numeral which could be used in mathematical calculations and beyond. By turning zero into an actual number, Brahmagupta defined zero and gave it an identity resulting in the barrier of the unknown being broken.
"Today we take it for granted that the concept of zero is used across the globe and is a key building block of the digital world. But the creation of zero as a number in its own right, was one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of mathematics."
~ Marcus du Sautoy
(Mathematics Professor at the University of Oxford)
Furthermore, Brahmagupta's definition of zero broke
numerous scientific and technological barriers.
A great example of zero breaking barriers was its use in binary code. There were many barriers preventing computers and smartphones from being created, and one of those barriers was that there was no simple way to give instructions to computers, which is why the first computers were as big as rooms. These days, smartphones can fit inside a pocket and they are more accessible than ever! This was possible because zero offered simplicity which computers desperately needed. Using binary code, our online technology became more advanced and accurate. Zero has helped us by breaking some of the barriers which were restraining us.
This is a picture of an early version of a computer. The size of the computer occupies the whole room. Now, using binary code, we are able to have computers with more computing power than the computer aboard the Apollo 11 which landed humans on the moon.
(Source-University of Cambridge)
"The ability to use numbers such as zero raised us from cave-dwellers using stone tools to creators of great cities and modern science."
~ Brian Butterworth
(Author of the book, "The Mathematical Brain")