memes

Interesting pop science read though I would contend that the Babylonians did not invent zero, they used it as a placeholder in their base 60 number system. They did not use it in numerical operations or ended numbers with it.

I would argue the Hindus/Buddhists or India at a time contributed a lot more than "worshipping" it, whatever that means in this context. The currently ubiquitous decimal place value system, which was developed there, was based on the foundation of zero being a unique entity upon which numerical operations could be performed - much more than a placeholder.

Broadly, Western thought in the age of antiquity saw the idea of zero as representative of void or nothingness which was not seen in a positive light philosophically so it was to be avoided. Eastern thought came to see zero as potential ie. an empty canvas, or detachment that could lead to liberation. This more positive framing, which was rooted in Eastern spirituality, opened the door to further exploration and development of the concept.

When we think about the transmission of the number system we use today (including zero) from east to west we can draw a fairly straight line from Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Al-Khwarizmi, Piero della Francesca, to Leonardo Da Vinci and onward.