Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780-850) Al-Khwarizmi was a ninth-century mathematician who created many of the most basic techniques for how we perform calculations. His greatest contributions were in the realm of developing formal, systematic ways of doing arithmetic and solving equations. Al-Khwarizmis writings introduced the Hindu-Arabic decimal number system we use today to Europe, and this system makes it far easier to add, subtract, multiply, and divide quantities of any size than using Roman numerals or other nonpositional systems. Al-Khwarizmi also came up with systems of rules for solving basic equations, like 4x + 8 = 2, or x2 - 8 = 4. His work marks the beginning of what we today understand as algebra. Indeed, the word algebra comes from part of the title of his book on solving equations, and the word algorithm, meaning a systematic set of rules used to solve a problem, descends from al-Khwarizmis name.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:15:50 +0000
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