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MS#96. The Origin of Algebra, 1998
- Presentation to Homeokinetics
- Subjects: Complex systems, history of mathematics
- Written: November 24, 1997
- Abstract:
From a talk at
Homeokinetics 1998,
a conference held at the University of Connecticut, Storrs,
July 25-26, 1998, in honor of the 80th birthday
of Arthur Iberall, the creator of homeokinetics.
This paper is devoted to a fantasy on the origin
of algebra ca 820 AD at the Bait al Hikma, Baghdad.
The approach is typical of dynamical historiography,
which is the application of dynamical systems theory
(including the mathematical theory of chaos and bifurcations)
to history.
In this case we view cultural diffusion and bifurcation
from the perspective of reaction-diffusion equations,
that is, as if layers of culture were diffusing and reacting chemicals.
- Partial draft [HTML]
Full text [TEXT]
- [PDF] 36 pages, 3.1 MB
Last revised
by Ralph Abraham
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