Discrete Structures, Logic, and Computability, 4th Edition

chapter 9Algebraic Structures and Techniques

Algebraic rules of procedure were proclaimed as if they were divine revelations....

—From The History of Mathematicsby David M. Burton

The word algebra comes from the word al-jabr in the title of the textbook Hisâb al-jabr w’al-muqâbala, which was written around 820 by the mathematician and astronomer al-Khowârizmî. The title translates roughly to “calculations by restoration and reduction,” where restoration—al-jabr—refers to adding or subtracting a number on both sides of an equation, and reduction refers to simplification. We should also note that the word algorithm has been traced back to al-Khowârizmî because people used his name—mispronounced—when referring to a method of calculating with Hindu ...