Gaitan, Oscar: Zero Returned: What decimal notation suggests about Repetition, Identity, and Infinity

This paper develops an ontological reading of decimal structure. It argues that decimal notation contains two simultaneous logics: linear increase in value and cyclical recurrence in symbolic form. Zero returns at each decade boundary, digits repeat across magnitudes, and place value records accumulation through structured repetition. Interpreted through the image of the lemniscate, decimal representation becomes a model for philosophical tensions between identity and change, progress and return