An introduction to the history of algebra; solving equations from Mesopotamian times to the Renaissance.

9780821844731

An introduction to the history of algebra; solving equations from Mesopotamian times to the Renaissance.

Sesiano, Jacques.

American Mathematical Society

2009

174 pages

$35.00

Paperback

Mathematical world; v.27

QA151

Sesiano begins just after 2000 BC and the solution of equations and systems of the first and second degrees, and ends just before AD 1600 and the solution of equations in the third and fourth degrees--the last in which the unknown may be expressed by means of a general formula. He identifies stages in solving equations during the intervening millennia, linking them to successive extensions of the number systems beyond positive integers and fractions to embrace positive irrational numbers, negative numbers timidly towards the end of the Middle Ages, and finally complex numbers shortly after that. The pages are few for so long a scope, he confesses, but still he devotes some to appending selected texts in their original language. Une Introduction a l'histoire de l'algebre; Resolution des equations des Mesopotamiens a la Renaissance was published by Preses Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes, Lausanne in 1999, and is translated by Anna Pierrehumbert.

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