> Abstract algebra is not part of the typical undegrad CS/engineering math curriculum. It should be (says the mathematician)! That it doesn't probably comes f

> Abstract algebra is not part of the typical undegrad CS/engineering math curriculum. It should be (says the mathematician)! That it doesn't probably comes from confusing the elegant theoretical perspective on finite fields to the computational perspective, which (at least from my pure-math point of view) can get pretty hairy.