Thank you, Bob, for sharing your experience, and I am glad that you have looked into this phenomenon.

The disappointing part for me is that obviously I did not write clearly enough about the importance of zero (or nothing, or the empty spot) because you didn't see it's importance.

Here is the surprise that should make you question your present position on this:

Had it not been for zero, the material universe would not have come into being.

Gödel provided evidence, I provide evidence.

The trick is, disguised in an analogy, that folks think 'marriage' or 'unity' when they think of the Big Picture of everything. That is the only mistake they're making and it is so difficult to point that out.

Once they open up to thinking 'divorce' or 'separation' as the single most important aspect in the universe, then the chips should fall into place.

I am sorry I can't write better than what my abilities are. But it is hard to show folks that they are using their brains in a peculiar way, not seeing the alternate option, not using both brain hemispheres (or seeing both as one and the same fully connected brain).

It is like Rubin's Vase, Bob.

When you have 'the Vase' in mind for the Big Picture, then you cannot see the importance of zero. Not possible.

When you have the 'Two Faces' in mind for the Big Picture, then zero is obviously the most central theme. Clear as day.

The assignment is to see both options for what they both are, not mixing them up. Apparently that is a real difficult assignment for most people. They can't see that the alphabet cannot be explained by numbers, and that numbers cannot explain the alphabet, and therefore they end up picking one of the two to describe the Big Picture, which is then automatically incorrect because the Big Picture will and must of course contain both perspectives.

It is extremely difficult to make folks aware that their Big Picture view is one step below the actual Big Picture. It is a structural feat that the human mind has trouble acknowledging because folks almost automatically dive into A or they dive straight into B and they do not acknowledge that the Big Picture level is AB. They made a choice about the Big Picture and then think that their Big Picture view is indeed the Big Picture while it is not.

Let me know if you figured it out, Bob. That would make me very happy.