Speaker
Description
Linear algebra is fundamental to mathematics and has wide-ranging applications in science, engineering, and data analysis. As a core mathematical subject, it is taught to students at both the high school and college levels, not only in mathematics but also across the sciences. Is linear algebra easy? It may not be as easy as it sounds. Is teaching linear algebra easy? It may not be as easy as one thinks. Seemingly simple questions often reveal subtle conceptual issues: for example, what is the degree of the zero polynomial, and why? If every subset of a vector space spans a subspace, what does the empty set span? Are the eigenvalues of a matrix continuous functions of its entries?
This talk addresses several issues in linear algebra arising in both teaching and research. Such issues are frequently overlooked or treated carelessly in textbooks and classroom instruction.