Galois Theory, 4th Edition

Historical Introduction

Mathematics has a rich history, going back at least 5000 years. Very few subjects

still make use of ideas that are as old as that, but in mathematics, important dis-

coveries have lasting value. Most of the latest mathematical research makes use of

theorems that were published last year, but it may also use results first discovered by

Archimedes, or by some unknown Babylonian mathematician, astronomer, or priest.

For example, ever since Archimedes proved (around 250 BC) that the volume of a

sphere is what we would now write as

4

3

πr

3

, that discovery has been available to any

mathematician who is aware of the result, and whose research ...