Mathematical work

Within the academic discipline of mathematics, Dodgson worked primarily in the fields of geometry, linear and matrix algebra,mathematical logic, and recreational mathematics, producing nearly a dozen books under his real name.

Dodgson also developed new ideas in linear algebra (e.g., the first printed proof of the Kronecker - Capell theorem) ,probability, and the study of elections and committees; some of this work was not published until well after his death. His occupation as Mathematical Lecturer at Christ Church gave him some financial security.


His mathematical work attracted renewed interest in the late 20th century. Martin Gardner's book on logic machines and diagrams and William Warren Bartley's posthumous publication of the second part of Carroll's symbolic logic book have sparked a reevaluation of Carroll's contributions to symbolic logic. Robbins' and Rumsey's investigation of Dodgson condensation, a method of evaluating determinations, led them to the Alternating Sign Matrix conjecture, now a theorem.

The algorithm known as Dodgson condensation is closely related to the Schur complementand the Desnanot-Jacobi identity. The discovery in the 1990s of additional ciphers that Carroll had constructed, in addition to his "Memoria Technica", showed that he had employed sophisticated mathematical ideas in their creation.