The Other Zero: Unified Theory of Ontological Zero (UTOZ): Zero as Actual-Potential Concurrency; 0α as Source-Origin and 0β as Transition-Threshold

This OSF project hosts the v0.1 release of the Unified Theory of Ontological Zero (UTOZ), part of the Unified Informational Dynamics Theory foundational/extension series. The other Zero UTOZ argues that Zero is not adequately understood as absolute nothingness, nor exhausted by formal mathematical 0. It introduces 0α as Zero’s source-origin face and 0β as Zero’s transition-threshold face. These are not new numbers, but ontological markers used to distinguish source, transition, trace, and actual-potential concurrency. The paper develops an inferential sequence: reference implies threshold; threshold implies polarity; polarity implies approach; approach implies structured neighborhood; transition implies trace; trace implies non-annihilative change; and non-depletion implies actual-potential concurrency. It then maps these claims to problem-domains including limits, signed zero, Zeno’s paradoxes, identity over time, trace-preservation, and the relation between actuality and prospective possibility. Core claim: Zero is not nothing. Zero is the infinite wholeness of actualizable possibility, with 0α naming Zero as source-origin and 0β naming Zero as transition-threshold. This v0.1 release includes the preprint and supporting release materials.