The use of the letter x as a mathematical unknown is a relatively modern convention. Algebra has been around for a lot longer. Daryl Benson/Stockbyte via Getty Images You might be most familiar with x ...

The letter “x” often symbolizes something unknown, with an air of mystery that can be appealing. Illustration by Meilan Solly Even though “x” is one of the least-used letters in the English alphabet, ...

Visit NAP.edu/10766 to get more information about this book, to buy it in print, or to download it as a free PDF. §I.1 THIS BOOK IS A HISTORY OF ALGEBRA, written for the curious nonmathematician. It ...

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§2.1 FROM EGYPT TO EGYPT: Diophantus, 15 the father of algebra, in whose honor I have named this chapter, lived in Alexandria, in Roman Egypt, in either the 1st, the 2nd, or the 3rd century CE. I ...