On associativity and commutativity (Q1434085): Difference between revisions

Mathematicians of the past needed a rather long time to understand that commutativity, and even more associativity, are ``non-obvious'' properties for calculations. The author gives in an interesting way algebraic as well as philosophical explanations for this fact, and additionally intends to argue for a natural ranking which counts associativity as even more fundamental than commutativity.