ABSTRACT
As a field in mathematics, group theory did not develop in the order that this and subsequent chapters follow. The first definition of a group is generally credited to Evariste Galois. As he studied methods to find the roots of polynomials of high degree, he considered polynomials with symmetries in their roots and functions on the set of roots that preserved those symmetries. Galois’ approach to studying polynomials turned out to be exceedingly fruitful and this book covers Galois theory in Chapter 11.
