Should Abelian Be Capitalized in Mathematical Texts?

[Mandelbroth]

I've always capitalized the word Abelian. Abel has always been one of my idols, and I've just seen it as the right thing to do, both in reverence of a mathematical prodigy and in proper use of the English language. However, I've gone back to review some algebra before attempting to learn some algebraic geometry, and a lot of people do not capitalize the word.

Is there a reason for this?

 

[D H]

Is there a reason for this?

Getting your name lowercased is an extreme honor in some branches of science and mathematics. For example, look at the units for temperature (kelvin), energy (joule) and magnetic flux (gauss). Mathematicians have gaussian distributions, boolean algebras, and of course abelian groups.

 

[Mandelbroth]

Getting your name lowercased is an extreme honor in some branches of science and mathematics. For example, look at the units for temperature (kelvin), energy (joule) and magnetic flux (gauss). Mathematicians have gaussian distributions, boolean algebras, and of course abelian groups.

I'd never thought of it that way. Thank you.

 

[UltrafastPED]

It is an editorial convention. Over time, conventions have changed.

See this discussion: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/44946/why-is-abelian-infrequently-capitalized