[Pandora]

Originally Posted by MikeB

This is a bit different from the solution path I was taught. I'm used to solving for one variable in terms of the other in one equation and substituting into the other equation.

So a + 2b = 4 resolves to a = 4-2b

Then substituting this for a into the other equation:

2(4-2b) +b =5 yields b=1

And so forth, same results...

ETA: Oh yeah, "Bite me Heinz" you so-called superior member! Heh.

My brain is insisting that your approach is the standard algebraic way to go about it - but it involves moving things from one side of the equation to the other. It involves rearranging things. Linear algebra doesn't let you rearrange things - you manipulate the entire formula, and you work across formulas rather than within.

Traditional algebra is intra-formula solving; Linear algebra is inter-formula solving