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Endpaper: How To Compute Determinants

1) The author was a teaching fellow for a linear algebra class but did not prepare for his sections due to lack of sleep and the early morning start time. 2) During a lesson on determinants, the author took the first matrix that came to mind to calculate the determinant, which turned out to be zero after two attempts. 3) The author then tried calculating the determinant of a "really generic matrix" but made multiple mistakes, leading to enrollment in a seminar for delinquent instructors at the end of the semester.

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26 views

Endpaper: How To Compute Determinants

1) The author was a teaching fellow for a linear algebra class but did not prepare for his sections due to lack of sleep and the early morning start time. 2) During a lesson on determinants, the author took the first matrix that came to mind to calculate the determinant, which turned out to be zero after two attempts. 3) The author then tried calculating the determinant of a "really generic matrix" but made multiple mistakes, leading to enrollment in a seminar for delinquent instructors at the end of the semester.

Uploaded by

John Asido
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FEATURE

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Endpaper:
How to Compute Determinants
Prof. Dennis Gaitsgory†
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
[email protected]

During one of my years in graduate school in Israel, I was a teaching fellow for a class on linear
algebra. I found the job annoying for two reasons: On one hand, the students were primarily non-math
majors. But more importantly, my class started at eight in the morning, which did not rhyme well with
my lifestyle at the time. As a result, I could not bring myself to prepare my section in advance. Instead
I improvised each time....
One day I found myself explaining determinants. “You know, for a generic matrix a determinant is
never zero. Somebody, give me an example of a matrix!” The class produced no reply. They were no
less sleepy than I was. In fact, not only were they asleep but they were suspicious as well. They did not
want to risk giving a matrix which by misfortune would have a zero determinant, with the gloomy title
of “degenerate” attached to it.
So I proceeded: “OK, let’s take the first matrix that comes to mind.”
 
1 2 3
4 5 6 
7 8 9

I set about computing the determinant by the usual formula. I was never good with computations and,
once again, I was especially sleepy:

1 · 5 · 9 − 2 · 4 · 9 ± 3 · 4 · 8 + ....

It took me a good 10 minutes. And what a shock, the determinant was zero! “I must have made a
mistake,” I told the class. I ran through the calculations once more, checking every step. Another 10
minutes passed. Zero again!
I tried to save myself. “OK, but sometimes the determinant is zero. Sorry. But now let’s take a
really generic matrix.”  
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
 
 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16
Another lengthy computation. . . .
At the end of that semester I was forced to enroll in a special seminar for delinquent instructors.

† Prof. Dennis Gaitsgory is a faculty member of the Harvard Mathematics Department.

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