The word algorithm derives from his name.

November 7, 2015 4:28 AM

The word algebra stems from the Arabic word al-jabr, which has its roots in the title of a 9th century manuscript written by the mathematician Al-Khwarizmi. The Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wal-muqabala (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing) was a pioneering piece of work - offering practical answers for land distribution, rules on inheritance and distributing salaries. This treatise also underpins the science of flight and the engineering behind the fastest car in the world. via
posted by infini (14 comments total)

The engineering behind the slowest car, of course, goes to Geoff in Accounting.
posted by clvrmnky at 5:24 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Algorithm, alcohol, albatross, alfalfa, alchemy... I'm seeing a pattern here.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:25 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

how is the "behind" link related to the fastest car in the world? is the link wrong? similarly, the"underpins" link doesn't mention flight or aircraft. i am confused (and possibly overly pedantic).
posted by andrewcooke at 5:42 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

No. This is where Al Gore rhythms came from.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:49 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Infini, L-O-V-E this post, thanks!
posted by ouke at 5:57 AM on November 7, 2015

And as algebra is baffling to some, it is perhaps not entirely surprising that the same source gives us gibberish.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:24 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Someone was listening to In Our Time, weren't they?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:54 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Nah. We renamed it to "freedom numbers".
posted by telstar at 11:04 AM on November 7, 2015

"similarly, the"underpins" link doesn't mention flight or aircraft"

I thought so too but did some digging, off hand I thought knowledge of fluid dynamics would be a precursor.

The slippery subject of aerodynamics
posted by clavdivs at 2:16 PM on November 7, 2015

Something I enjoyed when I realized it: the study of Computer Science predates the invention of computers by thousands of years.

(Well, digital computers anyway. I don't really know the history but it may be possible that the ancients had mechanical computers with some kind of generality. I wouldn't count calendars but I would count calculators.)

The search for efficient algorithms dates back almost to the dawn of mathematical history as we know it. For example, the Sieve of Eratosthenes is a clever, fast algorithm for finding prime numbers, whose namesake lived in the third century BCE.
posted by grobstein at 2:37 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Computers used to be people.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 4:32 PM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Computers used to be people.

This sounds like the plot of a horror movie.
posted by goodnight to the rock n roll era at 5:41 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Computers used to be people.

This sounds like the plot of a horror movie.

Soylent Beige is computers.
posted by MoTLD at 10:51 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

If I use my fingers to do algebra, does that make me a digital computer?
posted by VTX at 9:43 AM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]