English

Why all rings should have a 1

Rings and Algebras 2014-04-02 v1

Abstract

We argue that the definition of ring should require the existence of a multiplicative identity 1 because this requirement is part of what associativity should be. We list counterarguments in order to rebut them.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1404.0135,
  title  = {Why all rings should have a 1},
  author = {Bjorn Poonen},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1404.0135},
  year   = {2014}
}

Comments

4 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-22T03:39:55.786Z