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Homework Statement
Suppose that R is a ring and that aa = a for all a in R. Show that R is commutative.
The attempt at a solution
Let a and b be two elements from R. I'm having a hard time figuring this out without multiplicative inverses. All I've been able to derive is ab = aabb = abab so aabb - abab = a(ab - ba)b = 0.
Suppose that R is a ring and that aa = a for all a in R. Show that R is commutative.
The attempt at a solution
Let a and b be two elements from R. I'm having a hard time figuring this out without multiplicative inverses. All I've been able to derive is ab = aabb = abab so aabb - abab = a(ab - ba)b = 0.