Historia General De Bolivia

A Brief History of Algebra and Computing:
An Eclectic Oxonian View
Jonathan P. Bowen

Oxford University Computing Laboratory
Wolfson Building, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QD
Dedicated to Prof.C.A.R. Hoare, FRS, James Martin Professor of Computing at the
Oxford University Computing Laboratory.
Completed on his 60th birthday, 11th January 1994.
That excellent woman knew no more about Homerthan she did about Algebra, but she was quite contented with Pen's arrangements . . . and felt perfectly
con dent that her dear boy would get the place which he merited.

Pendennis (1848{50), byWilliam Makepeace Thackeray (1811{1863)
(The story of the progress of an Oxford student.)

Oh heck|another hour of algebra!
Opposite side = sine Adjacent side = cosine Opposite side = tangent!Hypoteneuse
Hypoteneuse
Adjacent side

1 The Origins of Algebra
The following problem on the Rhind Papyrus in the British Museum, London, was written
in about 1650 BC:
Divide 100 loaves among 10 menincluding a boatman, a foreman and a doorkeeper, who receive double portions. What is the share of each?
This can of course be solved using algebra.
The rst treatise on algebra was written byDiophantus of Alexandria in the 3rd century
AD. The term derives from the Arabic al-jabr or literally \the reunion of broken parts." As
well as its mathematical meaning, the word also means the surgicaltreatment of fractures.
It gained widespread use through the title of a book ilm al-jabr wa'l-mukabala|the science
of restoring what is missing and equating like with like|written by themathematician Abu
Ja'far Muhammad (active c800{847), who subsequently has become know as al-Kharazmi,
1

the man of Kwarazm (now Khiva in Uzbekistan). He introduced the writing down of
calculations in placeof using an abacus. Algorism (the Arabic or decimal system of writing
numbers) and algorithm both derive from his name.
Algebra was brought from ancient Babylon, Egypt and India to Europe via...