
Alice’s adventures in algebra (2009) - kqr2
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427391-600-alices-adventures-in-algebra-wonderland-solved/
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saretired
I got 1/3 through this article and the silliness made me stop. There was
absolutely nothing controversial about imaginary and complex numbers in the
Victorian era. The unprovability of Euclid's parallel postulate had a
tremendous impact on mathematics and logic; Euclid was no longer regarded as a
perfect model. The author's understanding of the etymology of algebra is
absurd. The 'restoration and reduction' it refers to is setting a broken bone
--moving back and forth from one side of the equation to the other like a
doctor setting a bone--and not shrinking in size as the author seems to think.
With so many untrue premises I have no interest in the author's conclusion.

