Timeline for Why were matrix determinants once such a big deal?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
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| Dec 6, 2016 at 15:09 | comment | added | Federico Poloni | Note that you can prove the nonsingularity of a Vandermonde matrix with different nodes very simply without speaking about determinants --- it's basically equivalent to the fact that a nonzero degree-$d$ polynomial has at most $d$ roots. | |
| Aug 18, 2010 at 23:16 | comment | added | J. M. isn't a mathematician | Generally determinants of structured matrices have nice structure themselves, which is one explanation for their utility. | |
| Aug 18, 2010 at 22:33 | history | answered | Pace Nielsen | CC BY-SA 2.5 |