Differential Equations and Linear Algebra
There’s no doubt that Gilbert Strang is a master teacher and an enthusiastic evangelist for his perceptive vision of where applied math should be headed. After a half century and ten editions of Boyce and DiPrima, there’s a pile of reasons (and ways) to change the typical first course in differential equations. One good idea is to combine that course with one on linear algebra, which occurred quite some time ago to Kreider, Kuller, Ostberg, and Perkins and to Hirsch and Smale, among others. Now, however, we have MATLAB and Maple, the Singular Value Decomposition, and the fast Fourier transform! Some experimentation with technology and computing uncovers the practical importance of differential equations. Students tend to learn the method of Frobenius and about specific special functions later, perhaps encountering them in a course in engineering, biology, or finance. They ultimately also learn that nonlinearity must be faced. This is hinted at by the book’s attractive cover illustration (by two artistic SIAM staff members), which relates pictures of the Lorenz attractor from a Portuguese grad student.