 would you want to waste a number?" "Waste a number? isn't it arbitrary where the numbers start?" "Nope. All types, signs, and sizes of variables include zero in their range of acceptable values. If C started counting at one you would loose the use of a whole digit." There may be other reasons beyond what my friend told me, but generally C tries to do as little as possible that would artificially limit the machine even if it makes things a bit more complex for the programmer. That's a very different mentali