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Excel "isEven" function consider "0 is even", but that will imply "at night we see an even count of Suns visible in the sky".

Vitalie Ghelbert 0 Reputation points
2025-10-13T05:42:19.55+00:00

Excel "isEven" function consider "0 is even",
but that will imply "at night we see an even count of Suns visible in the sky".

If "0 is even", how would we answer these questions then:

Snakes will mean to have an odd or an even count of legs?
Pigs will mean to have an odd or an even count of wings?
Humans will mean to have an odd or an even count of horns?
After chicken head cutoff will it mean to have an odd or an even count of heads?
At night will it mean to have an odd or an even count of Suns visible in the sky?
An apple will mean to have an odd or an even count of noses?
Roosters will mean to lay an odd or an even count of eggs?
Jesus Christ had an odd or an even count of computers before the computer era?

Theorem:

Zero has neutral parity,
having neither an odd nor an even count of units 1.

Demonstration:

The number of units 1 that make up any integer,
define integers parity as odd or even.

Exegesis:

Non-zero integers are made up of units 1,
having an odd or an even count of units 1,
and that defines integers parity as odd or even.

No units 1 make up 0,
so 0 is the absence of any odd or even count of units 1,
so neither an odd nor an even count of units 1 make up 0,
so 0 has neutral parity.

Zero is a neutral number,
having neutral value, neutral sign and neutral parity.

@};-

Bibliography:

Part 1: Zero is odd or even number? | by Aa | Medium:
https://medium.com/@gvitalie/part-1-zero-is-odd-or-even-number-6e316b04bcbd

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Android
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  1. Jason Roberts 2,100 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-10-13T09:08:54.92+00:00

    Hi Vitalie,

    My name is Jason and I am an independent advisor and windows user like yourself.

    That's a fun and very philosophical way to approach a mathematical concept!

    In short, the conflict you're describing exists primarily because you are mixing the formal, strict rules of mathematics (which define parity) with the informal, intuitive rules of language and real-world counting (which often imply existence).

    In mathematics, there is no debate: Zero (0) is an even number. This is not a convention but a consequence of its properties.

    Why Zero is Mathematically Even (Ignoring Units)

    The core definition of an even number is:

    An integer n is even if and only if it can be written in the form n=2k, where k is an integer.

    If we substitute n=0:

    0=2×k

    We can easily solve this by setting k=0. Since k=0 is an integer, 0 is mathematically even.

    Your proposed theorem ("Zero has neutral parity") contradicts this fundamental definition, and the idea of "units 1" is not how parity is formally defined in number theory.

    Answering Your Questions (Applying the "0 is Even" Rule)

    Your real-world questions work by equating "count of zero" with "even". This is where the funny results come from—the answers are factually correct based on the count, but linguistically absurd because "even" implies a grouping that doesn't exist when the count is zero.

    Question Count Answer Based on Count Linguistic Implication (The Absurdity)
    Snakes will mean to have an odd or an even count of legs? 0 Even Snakes are well-paired!
    Snakes will mean to have an odd or an even count of legs? 0 Even Snakes are well-paired!
    Pigs will mean to have an odd or an even count of wings? 0 Even Pigs have a countable, even number of wings (zero).
    Humans will mean to have an odd or an even count of horns? 0 Even We are perfectly symmetrical in our lack of horns.
    After chicken head cutoff will it mean to have an odd or an even count of heads? 0 Even The lack of a head is an even number of heads.
    At night will it mean to have an odd or an even count of Suns visible in the sky? 0 Even The suns are neatly paired up (by being absent).
    An apple will mean to have an odd or an even count of noses? 0 Even Apples have an even number of noses.
    Roosters will mean to lay an odd or an even count of eggs? 0 Even Roosters lay an even number of eggs (zero).
    Jesus Christ had an odd or an even count of computers before the computer era? 0 Even Zero is even, so he had an even number of computers.

    Export to Sheets

    The Intuition vs. Formalism Conflict

    The humorous (or absurd) results come from the clash between:

    Formal Math: Count = 0. Since 0 is even, the property is "even." (Correct ✅)

    Intuition/Language: People don't naturally say, "I have an even number of gold bars," when they have none. The word "even" in everyday language implies at least two items that can be divided into pairs.

    This is why your specific real-world examples feel wrong: parity (odd/even) is a property of the number itself, but when you apply it to a zero count of an object, your brain focuses on the non-existence of the object rather than the numerical property of the count.

    For technical tools like Excel's ISEVEN function, it must follow the strict mathematical rule that 0=2×0, and therefore, ISEVEN(0) must return TRUE. Hope this makes sense

    1 person found this answer helpful.

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