Boolean algebra is George Boole’s adaptation of the traditional notation of algebra to logic. For example, just as 2(3 + 4) = 2(3) + 2(4), which algebra generalizes as x(y + z) = xy + xz, the phrase “English men and women” is logically equivalent to the phrase “English men and English women,” which Boolean algebra generalizes in the same way: as x(y + z) = xy + xz.