On the curious historical coincidence of algebra and double-entry bookkeeping
نویسنده
چکیده
The emergence of symbolic algebra is probably the most important methodological innovation in mathematics since the Euclidean axiomatic method in geometry. Symbolic algebra accomplished much more than the introduction of symbols in mathematics. It allowed for the abstraction and generalization of the concepts of number, quantity and magnitude. It led to the acceptance of negative numbers and imaginary numbers. It gave rise to new mathematical objects and concepts such as a symbolic equation and an aggregate of linear equations, and revealed the relation between coefficients and roots. It allowed for an algebraic approach to ancient geometrical construction problems and gave birth to analytical geometry. Why did this important methodological revolution happen? Why did it happen in Europe and not in Asia while Indian and Chinese algebra were more advanced before the fourteenth century? Why did it happen in the European Renaissance?
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