This summer, battle lines were drawn over a simple math problem: 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ? If you divide 8 by 2 first, you get 16, but if you multiply 2 by (2 + 2) first, you get 1. So, which answer is right?

A 9th-century Persian scholar, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, revolutionized mathematics by introducing systematic methods for solving equations, laying the groundwork for algebra. His name gave rise ...