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No, linear algebra does not have an Isaac Newton figure. The historical development was different. The different history does not bear on the ultimate impact
by mturmon 12y ago
No, linear algebra does not have an Isaac Newton figure. The historical development was different.
The different history does not bear on the ultimate impact and general utility of the tools offered by calculus or by linear algebra.
Eigenvalues and orthogonality are not just "book-keeping". Why give forth empty slurs like this?
- xamuel 12y agoWasn't meant as a slur, I love linear algebra. Especially graduate-level, when you learn about the abstract (commutative diagram) approach to tensor products! :D Current-day impact doesn't retroactively grant historical value, though: the smartphone has not had a big impact on history (yet). If you can do a decent treatment of eigenvectors in a non-honors freshman course, my hat goes off to you. Even in a 2nd-year course where students are more mature, that's hard (first time I took LA, eigenvectors were rushed at breakneck speed in the very last lecture). And while they're very important, eigenvectors are still a shadow of the historico-cultural impact of calculus.