Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī
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Abū al-Hasan ibn ʿAlī al-Qalaṣādī (1412 in Baza, Spain – 1486 in Béja, Tunisia) was an Arab Muslim mathematician and an Islamic scholar specializing in Islamic inheritance jurisprudence. He is known for being one of the most influential voices in algebraic notation since antiquity and for taking "the first steps toward the introduction of algebraic symbolism." He wrote numerous books on arithmetic and algebra, including al-Tabsira fi'lm al-hisab (Arabic: التبصير في علم الحساب "Clarification of the science of arithmetic").[1]
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[edit] Symbolic algebra
In Islamic mathematics, al-Qalasadi made the first attempt at creating an algebraic notation since Ibn al-Banna two centuries earlier, who was himself the first to make such an attempt since Diophantus and Brahmagupta in ancient times.[1] The notations of his predecessors, however, lacked symbols for mathematical operations.[2] Al-Qalasadi's algebraic notation was the first to have symbols for these functions and was thus "the first steps toward the introduction of algebraic symbolism." He represented mathematical symbols using characters from the Arabic alphabet, where:[1]
- wa means "and" for addition (+)
- illa means "less" for subtraction (-)
- fi means "times" for multiplication (*)
- ala means "over" for division (/)
- j represents jadah meaning "root"
- sh represents shay meaning "thing" for a variable (x)
- m represents mal for a square (x2)
- k represents kab for a cube (x3)
- l represents yadilu for equality (=)
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., “Abu'l Hasan ibn Ali al Qalasadi”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
- ^ (Boyer 1991, "Revival and Decline of Greek Mathematics" p. 178) "The chief difference between Diophantine syncopation and the modern algebraic notation is the lack of special symbols for operations and relations, as well as of the exponential notation."
[edit] References
- O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., “Abu'l Hasan ibn Ali al Qalasadi”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
- Rebstock, Ulrich (1990). "Arabic Mathematical Manuscripts in Mauretania". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 52 (3): 429–441. University of London.
- Boyer, Carl B. (1991), A History of Mathematics (Second Edition ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ISBN 0471543977
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