Up With People, Determinants
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007Guest posting at the n-Category Café, Tom Leinster drew everyone’s attention to Sheldon Axler’s manifesto, Down With Determinants! Axler argues when teaching linear algebra, determinants should be avoided almost completely.
This has led to a surprisingly wide-ranging discussion. Lieven Le Bruyn and more recently Masoud Khalkhali have weighed in with defences of the determinant.