Algebra, like most of the widely used mathematics in vogue nowadays is based on the number 10. This science, if you would call it that, has been part of a global effort to find the natural order and to keep track of our stuff and to solve puzzles that have ‘hidden’ answers.
Despite the self-love of the “white northern peoples” ergo: the Europeans, Caucasians and their brethren in the Americas, the original figurers of math were not “white people”. The East Asians of China and the people of India and the West Asians of Persia seem to have ‘come up with algebra first’.
Interest in the subject and its wisdom managed to spread, and more developmental work was actual done on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in ‘classical centuries after the Asians and Indians ‘knew’. If you’re like I was, then you might mistakenly jump to the conclusion that this all happened way before that fellow Jesus the Christ – the Jewish guy, came around and generated a massive cultural shift, but no: the Greeks made most of their contribution to algebra during the first 2 centuries after Christ’s life.
Centuries later, the West Asian/North African “Middle Eastern” people advanced algebra further. This was done in Arabia in the 800’s. It was at this time that they began to work with the number 0 which, as it turns out, makes an incredibly significant difference. Doubtless, as you go about your daily life in the New Millenium’s first decade you don’t usually think, “and wow, it was that recently that we even had the number 0 to work with.” Nevertheless, it’s true. Onward and upward…despite Crusades and various ransacks of halls of knowledge and wisdom and palatial residencies progress continued.
Luckily, it isn’t like that all the time.
Near the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066, an amazing Arabian man named Omar Khayyan living in Baghdad, of what is now Iraq dedicated a good deal of his life to erudition and scholarly pursuits. This is indeed fortunate, for, thanks to him we have several marvelous poems, and another excellent book on algebra. He was also an astronomer. This information definitely gives the impression of a delightful, insightful romantic classy Muslim.
Remember, these are also the people who came up with the excellent numerals. To this day, I don’t know if it is because of how Arabic is written that they came up with the numbers, but they so much less clumsy than those massive and unwieldy Roman ones that like yourself I’m mostly just grateful.
The Europeans finally developed the first interest that we still know of around 1500 AD. Yes, that was less than 600 years ago. As the ignorance and cultural losses of the “Dark Ages” finally came to an end, some European scholars learned of and were drawn to algebra. This might have a great deal to do with international travel and the formidable art of linguistic translation.
Now, in our age of ‘global communication’ the majority of the human population is or seems to be ‘on the same page’ and using much of the same mathematical systems and principles on a day to day basis. For many of us, the way it occurs in our lives are in the form of fairly simple but common solvable problems. However, it is the power of these same formulae that have allowed for the creation of modern aircraft, motor boats and many other items of astonishing power. So, be thankful to all those who have helped to make sure that you are one of those who are ‘in the know’ about algebra.
