November 30, 2007 – 5:36 pm
It occurred to me that the previous post might have given the wrong impression, for example, that you need to understand the article on the Chinese remainder theorem for the exam. This was far from my intention. I hope it’s obvious that they are actually recommended either for your general amusement, or if you wish [...]
November 29, 2007 – 3:37 pm
Three articles available on my website discuss topics that may be of interest to my current students. But they’re a bit hidden, so I’m adding links here. Comments on the Chinese remainder theorem Some matrix groups Why everyone should know number theory All three are a bit dated and many sentiments expressed there (especially in [...]
November 29, 2007 – 3:16 pm
While conversing with Acyr Locatelli about the textbook on linear algebra, I ended up elaborating a bit on the author Serge Lang, who was mentioned earlier as the supervisor for my Ph.D. thesis. I thought therefore to provide links to two articles that appeared in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society a short while [...]
November 27, 2007 – 11:56 pm
Hi Sir I was doing question 2 of Sheet 6 2201 and I am confused as to how to find the matrix corresponding to the basis B which is {(1 1 1), (1 1 -1), (1 0 -1)}. I read the article on Quadratic Forms on your webpage but that did not clear it up. [...]
November 26, 2007 – 2:08 pm
I just added a small `Remark on quadratic forms‘ to the course webpage, which I hope you’ll read. It was prompted by a question from one of you concerning the reason for looking at the quadratic form associated to a symmetric bilinear form. I gave some kind of an answer, and then realized that the [...]
November 21, 2007 – 7:06 pm
Hi Sir, I need a little help on diagonalising matrices. What do you do if you only have one eigenvalue. i.e. on question 1 of this weeks homework, the result of det(XI-A) is (X-2)^2=0 and (A-2I)v=0 gives x=y so my eigenvector is (1) (1) How do I continue from here? Thanks. Reply: Think about the [...]
November 18, 2007 – 12:15 am
It seems reasonable at this point to extend an invitation to others who may have mathematical questions that are suitable for discussions on this blog. For example, students in my tutorial groups are strongly encouraged to use this medium. However, even if you’re enrolled in some other mathematics course at UCL, or, for that matter, [...]
November 15, 2007 – 5:27 pm
Hi Prof Kim, I’m wondering is there recommended books that I can buy for 2201? Thank you. Mi Sun Reply: The book listed on the syllabus by Serge Lang is a rather nice classic. I have some sentimental attachment to it because it was written by my late Ph.D. supervisor. Another clear exposition is the [...]
November 8, 2007 – 11:08 pm
Hi Professor Kim, Having read various notes and definitions on the internet, i still don’t understand how to calculate the minimal polynomial in your Linear Algebra course. If i take the Homework 4 sheet as an example, I have no problem working out the characteristic polynomials in questions 2 and 3, which i find to [...]
November 7, 2007 – 11:20 pm
Dear Prof. Kim, Sorry to disturb your working.I am one of your students. Since we do not have tutorial during this reading week,I have got a problem of understanding one of the question from the homework. Not only me, but also other students have the same problem.The question is followed. Q: Show that every truth [...]
