Friday, December 28, 2007

There's a new Sage in mathematics

Need to solve a calculus problem, model a galaxy, map a 12-dimensional object, or calculate rainfall patterns under global warming? Until now you'd have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a commercial software program like Matlab, Maple, Mathematica, or Magma.

But now your problem can be solved for free, using an open-source tool called Sage that recently won first prize in the scientific software division of Les Trophées du Libre.

William Stein, associate professor of mathematics and lead developer of the tool, worked with over a hundred mathematicians to combine user-friendly and powerful number-crunching with new features such as collaborative online worksheets.

My question is, with the state of American math education, will anyone know how to use it?

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