Reply #15: Algebra has changed SO much since the 1960s. [View All]

[DemoTex]

Algebra may divided into "classical algebra" (equation solving or "find the unknown number" problems) and "abstract algebra", also called "modern algebra" (the study of groups, rings, and fields). Classical algebra has been developed over a period of 4000 years. Abstract algebra has only appeared in the last 200 years.

The development of algebra is outlined in these notes under the following headings: Egyptian algebra, Babylonian algebra, Greek geometric algebra, Diophantine algebra, Hindu algebra, Arabic algebra, European algebra since 1500, and modern algebra. Since algebra grows out of arithmetic, recognition of new numbers - irrationals, zero, negative numbers, and complex numbers - is an important part of its history.

The development of algebraic notation progressed through three stages: the rhetorical (or verbal) stage, the syncopated stage (in which abbreviated words were used), and the symbolic stage with which we are all familiar.

http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~sxw8045/history.htm

Why it changes every day! One must keep up with the latest. 'Course my algebra books were free. That must mean that they weren't worth squat. Those free books prepared me for a 4.0 in math courses (calculus and differential equations) at Georgia Tech. Give me a break! I am shocked.