The Genesis of Geometric Algebra: A Personal Retrospective

Even today mathematicians typically typecast Clifford Algebra as the “algebra of a quadratic form,” with no awareness of its grander role in unifying geometry and algebra as envisaged by Clifford himself when he named it Geometric Algebra. It has been my privilege to pick up where Clifford left off—to serve, so to speak, as principal architect of Geometric Algebra and Calculus as a comprehensive mathematical language for physics, engineering and computer science. This is an account of my personal journey in discovering, revitalizing and extending Geometric Algebra, with emphasis on the origin and influence of my book Space-Time Algebra. I discuss guiding ideas, significant results and where they came from—with recollection of important events and people along the way. Lastly, I offer some lessons learned about life and science.