Thread #16910908
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Why is abstract algebra more coherent and intuitive than linear algebra?
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>>16910908
What's so difficult about linear algebra?
I'm a literal midwit, might even be a fucking retard, but i don't find anything unintuitive regarding linear algebra
Systems of linear equations
Matrices
Determinants
Vector
Vector Spaces
Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
What's the problem?
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>>16912415
Literally every area in mathematics is unintuitive and difficult to understand when you get to the "where it ends" point.
When people say X is harder than Y they're taking about the beginning, not the end
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>>16910908
I would argue this is probably a symptom of the linear algebra course you took or the book you used to study. There is a very real sense in which linear algebra is the *only* cohesive, intuitive field of math. So much so that often the main goal in solving certain other math problems is to turn the problem into a linear algebra problem, solve it in the linear algebra world, then turn the solution back into one that fits the original domain.
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>>16910908
When I was a kid I remember realizing that no matter which order I picked 3 elements, I would end up with a cycle (either forward or backwards) after repeating the pattern indefinitely. I realized that this same pattern corresponded to rotating a triangle. I remember also realizing that if I had a collection of 4 elements, that this same logic didn't apply: there was something different about the way 4 "worked" I figured. I was like, 10 or so when I realized this kind of symmetry property, and didn't think about it again until I took 1st year abstract in uni.
What I'm trying to say is that I think there's something really intuitive about thinking about symmetry as a set of elements that act upon themselves via some sort of process. Linear on the other hand isn't obvious in the same way. There's no reason you would ever really develop any intuition behind linear if you were just sitting around thinking about random shit, but with abstract the ideas are very natural and apply very naturally to our day to day lives.
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>>16914712
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"Well, er, yes Mr. Anchovy, but you see your report here says that you are an extremely dull person. You see, our experts describe you as an appallingly dull fellow, unimaginative, timid, lacking in initiative, spineless, easily dominated, no sense of humor, tedious company and irrepressibly drab and awful. And whereas in most professions these would be considerable drawbacks, in linear algebra they are a positive boon."
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>>16918571
so, mr huff-and-puff, where is the definition, as aked here >>16918745 ?