Mathematician Conceives of Novel Genius Way to Solve Quadratic Equations | Science - Interesting Engineering

Loukia Papadopoulos, journalist, writer, and editor explains, The equations have been around for nearly 4000 years.

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Quadratic equations are equations to the second degree that contain at least one term that is squared. So far, in order to solve them, we have had to make use of the complicated quadratic formula.

A smarter alternative

Now, mathematician Po-Shen Loh from Carnegie Mellon University has conceived of an easier and better way to solve these tricky equations. "It is unfortunate that for billions of people worldwide, the quadratic formula is also their first experience of a rather complicated formula which they memorize," writes Loh in his new research paper that offers a smarter alternative...

4,000 years of history

"This article introduces an independently discovered simple derivation of the quadratic formula, which also produces a computationally-efficient and natural method for solving general quadratic equations. The author would actually be very surprised if this pedagogical approach has eluded human discovery until the present day, given the 4,000 years of history on this topic, and the billions of people who have encountered the formula and its proof," writes Loh.
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Source: Interesting Engineering