Make: Calculus

Preface

When Isaac Newton developed calculus in the mid-1600s, he was trying to use geometrical reasoning to solve physics and astronomy problems of the day. Were you to flip through a copy of Principia Mathematica, his work that largely defined calculus, you would notice that it is all geometrical sketches, with no equations in sight. (You can see Cambridge University Library’s scanned copy at cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/newton).

However, his contemporary and competitor, Gottfried Leibniz, took an approach that was more algebra-focused. Over time, Leibniz’s approach won out, and math and physics instruction became weighted toward algebra.

We know many science and math professionals who struggled in calculus courses. Years later they appreciated ...