Galois' note on the approximative solution of numerical equations (1830) (Q5952717)

Galois has not gained his fame because of this short note, whose modest aim was a simplification of a result by Legendre about the approximation of the roots of algebraic equations. Nevertheless there are several reasons for considering this note with greater care than has been devoted to it till now: Galois is rightly considered the initiator of modern algebra, but sometimes he is also thought of as the champion of pure and abstract mathematics, strongly opposed to its practical applications. The note where Galois addresses an hypothetical reader who wants to know if an algebraic equation is solvable by radicals, has often been considered, in isolation, as a sort of `manifesto'.