Dodgson condensation Dodgson condensation In mathematics, Dodgson condensation is a method of computing the determinants of square matrices. It is named for its inventor, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll). The method in the case of an "n" × "n" matrix is to construct an ("n" − 1) × ("n" − 1) matrix, an ("n" − 2) × ("n" − 2), and so on, finishing with a 1 × 1 matrix, which has one entry, the determinant of the original matrix. This algorithm can be described in the following four steps: One wishes to find We make a matrix of
Charles Dodgson (bishop) Charles Dodgson (bishop) Charles Dodgson ( – 21 January 1795) was an English Anglican cleric who served in the Church of Ireland as the Bishop of Ossory (1765–1775) then Bishop of Elphin (1775–1795). Dodgson was born in Howden, Yorkshire. His date of birth is not recorded; he was baptised on 10 January 1722. His father, Christopher Dodgson (1696–1750), was the curate there. Charles Dodgson was educated at Westminster School and St. John's College, Cambridge. After ordination, he was appointed to the parish of Bintry, Norfolk in 1746. He moved to the north of England, keeping a school at Stanwix in