Too bad -- the article doesn't mention Gauss. The Fourier transform is best presented to students in its original mathematical form, then coded in the FFT form. It also serves as a practical introduction to complex numbers.

As to the listed patent, it moves uncomfortably close to being a patent on mathematics, which isn't permitted. But I wouldn't be surprised to see many outstanding patents that have this hidden property.

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RossBencina 20 hours ago | parent [-]

Pretty sure in the USA you can patent mathematics if it is an integral part of the realisation of a physical system.* There is a book "Math you Can't Use" that discusses this.

* not a legal definition, IANAL.

	▲	wtetzner 19 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I would think you could only patent a particular usage of it.
	▲	lutusp 10 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> Pretty sure in the USA you can patent mathematics if it is an integral part of the realisation of a physical system. Yes, that's true. In that example, you're not patenting mathematics, you're patenting a specific application, which can be patented. In my reading I see that mathematics per se is an abstract intellectual concept, thus not patentable (reference: https://ghbintellect.com/can-you-patent-a-formula/). There is plenty of case law in modern times where the distinction between an abstract mathematical idea, and an application of that idea, were the issues under discussion. An obligatory XKCD reference: https://xkcd.com/435/ And IANAL also.