14-240/Linear Algebra - Why We Care

DBN: Classes: 2014-15: 14-240 / Navigation Welcome to Math 240! (additions to this web site no longer count towards good deed points) # Week of... Notes and Links 1 Sep 8 About This Class, What is this class about? (PDF, HTML), Monday, Wednesday 2 Sep 15 HW1, Monday, Wednesday, TheComplexField.pdf,HW1_solutions.pdf 3 Sep 22 HW2, Class Photo, Monday, Wednesday, HW2_solutions.pdf 4 Sep 29 HW3, Wednesday, Tutorial, HW3_solutions.pdf 5 Oct 6 HW4, Monday, Wednesday, Tutorial, HW4_solutions.pdf 6 Oct 13 No Monday class (Thanksgiving), Wednesday, Tutorial 7 Oct 20 HW5, Term Test at tutorials on Tuesday, Wednesday 8 Oct 27 HW6, Monday, Why LinAlg?, Wednesday, Tutorial 9 Nov 3 Monday is the last day to drop this class, HW7, Monday, Wednesday, Tutorial 10 Nov 10 HW8, Monday, Tutorial 11 Nov 17 Monday-Tuesday is UofT November break 12 Nov 24 HW9 13 Dec 1 Wednesday is a "makeup Monday"! End-of-Course Schedule, Tutorial F Dec 8 The Final Exam Register of Good Deeds Add your name / see who's in!

Linear Algebra is the Small Scale Theory of Everything

• To study the large, start with the small.

• In small scales, every space is a vector space.
  • Indeed if you walk a mile east, a mile north, a mile west and a mile south, you're back were you started, but if you fly a 1,000 miles east, a 1,000 miles north, a 1,000 miles west and a 1,000 miles south, you're not back were you started (where will you be?).

• In small scales, every function is a linear function.

	$\longrightarrow$
$z$	$\mapsto$	$z^{2}$	(code)

• The world doesn't come with coordinates.
  • Hence whenever we can we work without a basis, and when we do study bases, we study all of them.

See also The Mathematica notebook QuiltPlot.