Booth Associates - Our Logo

Our Logo: The Mayan Sea Shell Glyph

In approximately 700 A.D., Europe was immersed deeply into the Dark Ages. Anything that might remotely be called science was greatly encumbered by the use of a number system that remained from the once-powerful Roman Empire. At this same time, in the Western Hemisphere, the Maya had developed a number system that possessed an important concept which permitted them to advance significantly ahead of their European counterparts. This simple, but extremely important, idea was the concept of a zero.

The zero could be used as a placeholder which permitted the same symbol to assume different values depending where it was placed in the number’s representation. Our number system, acquired from the Arabic cultures, is similar. Our zero, like the zero of the Maya, permits this powerful use of position to determine value.

For example, the symbol "5" assumes a different value depending upon where it is placed in a number. The numbers 5, 50, and 500 all use the same symbol "5". However, they all have different values because the zero is used as a placeholder. This discovery also permits the development of a simple, rule-based arithmetic--something totally absent in Europe until it was brought to them later by the Arabs.

The Mayan symbol for zero was a simple drawing of a shell. Booth Associates has chosen the Mayan zero symbol (or glyph) as part of their logo. We feel it illustrates a principle that we have found important in solving and preventing problems in every organization with which we have worked. Just as the zero is a simple concept, it is extremely important and it permits the solution of many problems. Booth Associates also uses simple, but important, concepts--applied properly--to help organizations move forward with continuous improvement of their products, services, and processes.