Algebra _ for the practical wor - Thompson, J. E. (James Edgar).pdf

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PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION
The popular demand for this book and for the other four in the MATHE-
MATICS LIBRARY FOR PRACTICAL WORKERS has been maintained
through three editions and for over fifty years. The publisher hopes that
this Fourth Edition will prove as valuable to a new generation of practical
workers who must work with mathematics on a regular, practical, non-
theoretical basis.
PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION
ALTHOUGH
the approach to algebra used in this volume is unchanged
from that used so successfully in earlier editions, every effort has been
made to introduce certain new
concepts^
in keeping with contemporary
developments in the subject matter. Moreover, there is added here
a new chapter devoted to Boolean and other algebras. The student
will find that an acquaintance with these will enable him better to
understand some of their more common applications—notably, in
computers—and it is hoped that these algebras will also prove profitable
to the student in his study of advanced mathematics, particularly those
areas of mathematics—such as vector calculus—that play such a promi-
nent part in the natural sciences and engineering.
PREFACE TO FIRST
AND SECOND EDITIONS
olden days mathematics was regarded as a part of magic and at
first only priests and medicine men were allowed to use it. Later it
was a part of the stock in trade of astrologers and alchemists, and
even today a person who is good in mathematics in school is often
called by his friends a “wizard.” But knowledge of the ancient science
of mathematics is no longer a possession of the selected few. All of us
are free to study any part of the subject; nearly all of us use mathe-
matics in some form or other, and those of us who engage in engineering
or similar pursuits find the calculus, trigonometry and other higher
branches of mathematics among the essential tools of our trade. So
also the practical man must have a knowledge of the basic principles
of mathematics in order that he may fully understand their application
in his work. Mathematics has become vital to industry and to business
and must be a part of the education of everyone.
Appreciating that there are many who wish to carry their study of
mathematics beyond the limits of their schooling, this series has been
designed to present the various branches of fundamental mathematics
so that they may be understandable without the assistance of a teacher.
Such treatment should also be of interest to those who wish to review
their knowledge of special branches and to refresh their acquaintance
with methods of application by the study of a book that gives both the
underlying principles and their use in business and in industry. The
author, in his experience as an engineer and as a teacher of mathe-
matics to students and laymen in evening schools and in colleges, has
heard many of these men expre.ss the desire for books that may be used
for home study, and the series of books to which this volume belongs
IN
is the result of an attempt to meet their needs and wishes.
The complete series consists of volumes on arithmetic, algebra,
geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. The present volume on alge-
bra, while not the first of the series in order of reading sequence, is,
perhaps, the key book of the series in that it forms the reader’s real
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