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Historic Algebra
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Of course, algebra did not always exist in the form you are learning now. It developed over time, through the work of many people, in an effort to set up and solve problems more easily. Please watch this Brief History on the Origins and Evolution of Algebra (click the image to open the video [Video, 2:55 mins]):
screenshot of video
Also, recall the video presented in the Module Notes on Word Problems Simplified by Using Algebra (Links to an external site.).
In this discussion, we will try to imagine what it was like to discuss and work with numeric information before symbolic algebra was developed.
Now, let’s begin our discussion:
Imagine you are living in the 1400s and, as most people did then, you live off of the land. You raise cows, sheep, goats, etc., to provide food and clothing. Limited money exchange is available, most commonly in the form of silver and gold coins, though you most often barter for goods using what you could raise, grow, or build.
Think of some kind of common activity you might be planning or you might need to do in the course of your daily living. It might have to do with increasing the size of your fields, adding space to your house, fencing around your animals, how milk production would change if you bought another cow, how much cloth you could make from the wool from your sheep, how you might barter with your neighbor or at the marketplace, etc.
How would you express these ideas, which are quantifiable, in words? Remember, it is 1400. Everything is in wordsno symbols. For instance, I might say “The wool from three sheep is equal in value to the milk produced in three days time from two cows.” Or, “If I make each side of my fence twice as long, the grazing area for my animals would be… Try to come up with at least two examples. Include your examples in your initial post.
Reply to at least 2 classmates. In your reply, try to put your classmates ideas into some sort of symbolic form. In other words, try to translate their statements into modern mathematical symbols.
Finally: By this weekend, read as many posts and replies as you can. Post a new thread relating this experience to what you learned in the videos.
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