The Unattainable Attempt to Avoid the Casus Irreducibilis for Cubic Equations

Sara Confalonieri presents the most complete
analysis every attempted of Cardano s Ars magna as well as of Cardano s valiant
attempts to bypass the cases where the cubic formula includes square roots of
negative numbers, the so-called casus irreducibilis. a reference guide that
will be useful whenever one is studying Cardano s work. This work will stand
as a monument to Cardano s attempts to solve cubic equations. (Victor J. Katz,
Mathematical Reviews, December, 2015)

Sara Confalonieri s The Unattainable Attempt to Avoid the Casus Irreducibilis for Cubic Equations: Gerolamo Cardano s De Regula Aliza, based on the first part of her 2013 dissertation, is a welcome addition to the literature on Gerolamo Cardano. There is much to absorb and study in this treatise. And I look forward to reading the results of Confalonieri s future work related to the subjects presented here. (Joel Haack, MAA Reviews, June, 2015)