Posts

The word Algebra and its mathematical connotation stem from a 9th century Arabic treatise by al-Kwarizmi. This historical text dealt with finding the roots of a general quadratic polynomial equation, $ax^2+bx+c = 0$ for nonzero $a$, by completing the square, and this is where our journey begins. By the end of the course, we’ll have an understanding of what tools and techniques modern (19th and 20th century) algebra brings to bear on polynomials and their roots.

I’ve had a lot of conversations with students lately that start with disclaimers like, I’m sorry, I’m not really good at math, so…, and since it’s not so easy to give a pep talk in-person with the whole pandemic and everything, I thought I’d give the pep talk here. Watch the Pep Talk!