Persian mathematician almahani conceived the idea of reducing geometrical problems such as duplicating the cube to problems in algebra. I mean, look at babylonian mathematics, no one ever recognized them as the well, we dont know who invented it, so. Alkhwarizmi is often considered as the father of algebra, much of whose works on reduction was included in the book and added to many methods we have in algebra now. I discussed some of the original puzzles in this book at my pickover discussion group. He also had books on arithmetic, astronomy, trigonometry, and geography to name a few. One of his greatest works was compendious book on calculation by completion and balancing. Alkhwarizmi wanted to go from the specific problems considered by the indians and chinese to a more general way of. List of articles every wikipedia should haveexpanded meta. Alkhwarizmis text can be seen to be distinct not only from the babylonian tablets, but also from the diophantus arithmetica. Diophantus may have contributed to algebra, but it was definitely alkhwarizmi, in my eyes, that really has created algebra.
Aljabr comes closer to elementary algebra of today than the works of either diophantus or brahmagupta, because the book is not concerned with difficult. In alkhwarizmis own words, the purpose of the book is to teach. Latinized versions of his name and of his most famous book title live on in the terms algorithm and algebra. This may be because his proofs to diophantuss and abu kamils rules require that he add. Nevertheless, the aljabr comes closer to the elementary algebra of today than the works of either diophantus or brahmagupta, because the book is not. The history of algebra is very intriguing because of. The earliest arabic books on algebra give geometric. He was one of the first to write about algebra using words, not letters. Alkhwarizmis other important contribution was algebra, a word derived from the title of a mathematical text he published in about 830 called alkitab almukhtasar fi hisab aljabr walmuqabala the compendious book on calculation by completion and balancing.
This carefully crafted biography shines a longoverdue light on these achievements, documents khwarizmi s contributions to geography and astronomy, and. One of his principal achievements in algebra was his demonstration of how to solve quadratic equations by completing the square, for which he provided geometric justifications. Abu jafar muhammad ibn musa alkhwarizmi lived in baghdad, around 780 to 850 ce or ad. Brahmagupta and alkhwarizmis crucial contribution is the concept of the general solution of an equation. Orhan pamuk lu xun kahlil gibran france preseren ismail kadare joseph conrad. He developed two distinct branches of mathematics, both of which owe their name to him. Dubbed the the father of algebra, diophantus was an ancient greek.
Diophantus frequently dealt with cubic and higher power equations, up to x 9. Alkhwarizmi the father of algebra the story of mathematics. Al khwarizmi is arguably the most important mathematician of the middle ages. Alkhwarizmis popularizing treatise on algebra the compendious book on calculation by completion and balancing, c. In his book, alkhwarizmi introduced the fundamental algebraic. Around 825 he wrote the book hisab aljabr walmuqabala, from which we get the word algebra meaning restoration of broken. The compendious book on calculation by completion and. Also, neither of them used the symbolic algebra diophantus had pioneered. Thales or pytaghoras or diophantus or alkhwarizmi or any other. Abu abdallah muhammad ibn musa alkhwarizmi, better known as alkhwarizmi, was a persian mathematician born in the latter part of the 8 th century ce. Alkhwarizmis kitab almukhtasar fi hisab aljabr walmuqabala the compendious book on calculation by completion and balancing was a.
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