Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick
Algebraic Number Theory can legitimately be thought of as both the algebraic branch of number theory and the theory of algebraic numbers.
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One time a grad school classmate referred to Analytic Number Theory as "the theory of analytic numbers." Oops.
Of course, the title
Basic Number Theory was somewhat in jest -- it
is "basic" in the sense that it covers the basics of Class Field Theory. But it is definitely
not an introductory text.
I don't know whether Weil ever became exasperated with the jokes about the book title, but it is a fact that 12 years later, he came out with another book called
Number Theory for Beginners.
Reminds me, my third grade math class was really
hard! The textbook was
A Course in Arithmetic by Jean-Pierre Serre...