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Linear algebra isn't about matrices. And I heavily disagree with last paragraph. >Computers certainly helped accelerate the development of linear algebra and v
by WoahNoun 4y ago
Linear algebra isn't about matrices. And I heavily disagree with last paragraph.
>Computers certainly helped accelerate the development of linear algebra and vice-versa.
Computers have helped with matrix analysis given floating point constraints inherit to computers. But linear algebra has been in a pretty solid place as theory since Halmos published "Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces" in 1942.
- threatofrain 4y ago> We share a philosophy about linear algebra: we think basis-free, we write basis-free, but when the chips are down we close the office door and compute with matrices like fury. ~ Irving Kaplansky
- WoahNoun 4y agoHa! True enough. It's long joked that much pure math research is resolving really hard problems down to a calculus or linear algebra computation. When I first learned differential geometry, I was enamored with all the stuff we could do without coordinates. Then I learned Riemannian geometry and felt like I had been duped.