In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about a thousand miles west of Africa, there’s a place called Null Island. It sounds like a bustling spot where thousands of people live, millions of photos are taken, and people seem to pop in and out mysteriously. But here’s the twist: Null Island isn’t real. It’s just a spot in the ocean with a weather buoy, and it’s at exactly zero degrees longitude and zero degrees latitude. This is why computers sometimes think it’s a busy place.
When computers store information, they need to know the difference between “nothing,” like the number zero, and “no data,” which means they don’t have any information. This “no data” concept is called “NULL.” For example, if you know one cat has black fur and another has brown fur, but you don’t know about a third cat, you would say the third cat’s fur color is NULL. It doesn’t mean the cat has no fur; it just means you don’t have the data.
This isn’t just about cats. If your phone can’t figure out where you are, it might say your location is NULL, NULL. This is fine until a poorly designed app reads that as the coordinates zero, zero, which is Null Island. The app mistakenly thinks you’re in the middle of the ocean until your phone figures out your actual location.
In 2012, during a U.S. election, some voters in Wisconsin had their addresses listed as NULL because the Census Bureau didn’t have their coordinates. An automatic system then mistakenly placed them on Null Island, which is definitely not in Wisconsin. If this mistake hadn’t been fixed, these voters might have faced issues when trying to vote.
Another problem arises when people have “Null” as their last name. If a computer program confuses “Null” with NULL, it might think the person doesn’t exist, causing issues like not being able to register for an account.
These examples show how complex it can be to translate our real world into a computer system. So, if you ever see a photo tagged in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, you’ll know it’s probably a case of mistaken identity with Null Island.
Hey, this is Henry. I want to thank Tom Scott for helping with the video this article is based on. Also, thanks to Audible for supporting MinuteEarth. Audible offers a wide range of audiobooks, including fiction, non-fiction, and periodicals, and they provide a free 30-day trial at Audible.com/minuteearth.
I recommend the book “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely. It explores how humans often make irrational decisions, like putting more effort into getting something free than it’s worth. You can find “Predictably Irrational” on Audible, and using the free promo at Audible.com/minuteearth helps support MinuteEarth. Don’t forget to check out Tom Scott’s other videos on his channel!
Imagine you are a cartographer tasked with designing a map of Null Island. Use your creativity to draw what you think Null Island might look like if it were real. Include landmarks, imaginary cities, and features that make it a bustling place. Share your map with the class and explain your design choices.
Write a short story about an adventure on Null Island. What happens when someone accidentally ends up there? How do they solve the mystery of being in a place that doesn’t exist? Share your story with a partner and discuss the concept of “NULL” in your narrative.
Using a simple coding platform like Scratch, create a project that demonstrates the difference between “zero” and “NULL.” Design a scenario where a character searches for an item but encounters “NULL” data. Present your project to the class and explain how you represented “NULL” in your code.
Research and present a real-world example where “NULL” data caused a problem, similar to the Wisconsin voters or people with the last name “Null.” Discuss how the issue was resolved and what could be done to prevent similar problems in the future.
Participate in a debate about the importance of handling “NULL” values correctly in technology. One side will argue for the necessity of accurate data handling, while the other will discuss the challenges and limitations. Use examples from the article to support your arguments.
In the Atlantic Ocean, about a thousand miles west of Africa, is Null Island. It’s a busy place: thousands of people are said to live there, millions of photos have been taken there, and occasionally, people seem to teleport in for just a moment or two before disappearing to somewhere else. Or at least, that’s what it looks like to a computer.
If you actually set sail for Null Island, you’d find nothing but deep blue ocean and a lonely weather buoy. There is one special thing you might notice: it’s at exactly zero degrees longitude and zero degrees latitude — and that’s the key to why computers think this particular patch of ocean is a busy place.
Any big database, whether it’s storing information about people, photos, or other data, needs to know the difference between “nothing,” like zero, and “no data,” which is a mystery. That idea of “no data” is called “NULL.” For example, we know that one cat has black fur, and another has brown fur, but we don’t know about a third cat. NULL doesn’t mean “no color” or “no fur at all.” It literally means “there is no data here; we don’t know what color their fur is.”
This isn’t just a cat-related problem. If your phone doesn’t know where you are, it might tag a photo you take with latitude NULL and longitude NULL, or it might tell an app that your location is NULL, NULL. No problem so far. But badly written apps can read that as coordinates “zero, zero”: they’ve mistaken nothing for “nothing.” So they’ll think that you are on Null Island — at least until your phone works out where you really are.
More seriously, in a 2012 US election, many voters in Wisconsin lived in places that the Census Bureau didn’t have coordinates for. So a new, automatic system said they lived on Null Island… which is definitely not in any Wisconsin election district. If the mistake hadn’t been caught in time, they might have had problems voting.
You can also encounter issues when trying to put the actual word “null” into a database, like if you’re one of the many people with “Null” as your last name. It only takes a small programming error — mistaking “Null” for NULL — and suddenly, the computer thinks you don’t exist, or at least you can’t register an account with your favorite service.
All this is a reminder that our world is complicated, and it’s not always as easy as you might think to map our messy reality into a computer system. So the next time you see a photo tagged way out in the Atlantic Ocean, you’ll know what’s happened.
Hey, this is Henry. First, I’d like to say thanks to Tom Scott for helping write and narrate this video. And also thanks to Audible for supporting MinuteEarth – Audible is a leading provider of audiobooks including fiction, non-fiction, and periodicals, and they’re offering free 30-day trials for our viewers at Audible.com/minuteearth.
I’d like to recommend the book “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely, exploring various ways that humans reliably make irrational decisions (like how we’re often willing to put in more effort to get something that’s free than the free thing is actually worth). “Predictably Irrational” is available on Audible, and by using the free promo at Audible.com/minuteearth, you help support MinuteEarth. And don’t forget to check out Tom Scott’s other videos on his channel.
Null – In computing, null refers to a value that represents nothing or no value. – When a variable is set to null, it means it doesn’t hold any data.
Island – In coding, an island can refer to a section of code that is isolated from the rest of the program. – The developer created an island of code to test the new feature without affecting the main program.
Computers – Electronic devices that process data and perform tasks according to a set of instructions. – Computers have become essential tools for coding and learning new programming languages.
Data – Information processed or stored by a computer. – The program analyzes data to provide useful insights about user behavior.
Location – A specific place or position, often used in computing to refer to a place in memory or on a storage device. – The file’s location on the hard drive was crucial for the software to access it quickly.
Coordinates – A set of values that show an exact position, often used in programming to specify positions on a screen or map. – The game developer used coordinates to place the character at the starting point on the map.
Information – Processed data that is meaningful and useful. – The software converts raw data into information that helps users make decisions.
System – A set of connected parts forming a complex whole, often referring to computer systems that include hardware and software. – The operating system manages all the software and hardware on the computer.
Mapping – The process of linking one set of data to another, often used in programming to associate keys with values. – The app uses mapping to match user inputs with the correct responses.
Problems – Challenges or issues that need to be solved, often encountered in coding when a program doesn’t work as expected. – Debugging is the process of finding and fixing problems in a computer program.
