The value of nothing

When I was at camp last weekend I overheard another Scoutmaster talking with one of his Scouts.  I didn't hear the whole conversation but one comment grabbed my attention.

The conversation must have been about numbers because they were talking about the zero, and my friend commented that where the zero is placed makes a big difference.  You can all see this.  If you put the zero before another number it doesn't do much; if you put it after the number it makes a big difference.

That's not just true of numbers.  Very often a thing-or a person-may seem to be a zero-something that has no use.  But the true issue usually isn't that the person or thing has no value-that it isn't good for anything-but that it's in the wrong place.

Remember the zero.  Place it here and it has no effect; place it there and it makes a big difference.

Courtesy of:

Mark W. Arend, Scoutmaster

Troop 736

Beaver Dam, Wisc