Maggie's Farm

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Of course, this all depends on what the meaning of apple is...

If the definition of apple is too broad things like pomogranates and kiwis are going to start throwing a wrench into our calculations. If the definition is too narrow some varieties will count as a percentage of a whole (allowing for a fuzzy logic approach to the whole calculus of apple-ness).

If as Sissy suggests we look at the whole set "apples", it seems there is an ample, uncounted quantity. But if we are dealing with the subset of "apples on a (particular) table", are we justified looking at the issue from a linear, chronological perspective, or is the quantity "future apples" or "past apples" on the table (so to speak) as well? So the question is is the physical absence of apples in itself evidence of a lack of apples?

If the issue is one of there being any apples on the table when you're craving an apple, well duh! Either there are or there aren't... (That is if you can prove your existence to justify the claim of "hunger", whatever that is).

As for the discovery of the concept "Zero", well, that's kind like a little boy discovering he has a twinkie. It's always been there, but WOW! when you find it. Anyway, hasn't Coke taken the copyright to Zero?

Sorry, I learned somewhere how to make a Cuba Libre and this is the aftermath.

This is the time honored tradition of comparing apples to oranges.