A Tour of the Calculus

Posted on 05 March 2017 by David Berlinski

Were it not for the calculus, mathematicians would have no way to describe the acceleration of a motorcycle or the effect of gravity on thrown balls and distant planets, or to prove that a man could cross a room and eventually touch the opposite wall Just how calculus makes these things possible and in doing so finds a correspondence between real numbers and the real world is the subject of this dazzling book by a writer of extraordinary clarity and stylistic brio Even as he initiates us into the mysteries of real numbers, functions, and limits, Berlinski explores the furthest implications of his subject, revealing how the calculus reconciles the precision of numbers with the fluidity of the changing universe An odd and tantalizing book by a writer who takes immense pleasure in this great mathematical tool, and tries to create it in others New York Times Book Review Free Download A Tour of the Calculus [ by ] David Berlinski [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr unreadably frothy author may have already died from severe case of terminal cuteness.In writing A Tour of the Calculus , there are three things that David Berlinski would like you to know, in order 1 David Berlinski has readbooks than you.2 David Berlinski is well regarded among mathematicians.3 The motivations and concepts that support calculus as a foundational achievement of modern thought.Let me offer this praise Berlinski faithfully and artfully expresses what almost every math teacher misses The motivation for creating calculus was to understand a world of vary In writing A Tour of the Calculus , there are three things that David Berlinski would like you to know, in order 1 David Berlinski has readbooks than you.2 David B...Florid, ostentatious, and inexcusably pretentious Berlinski s writing doesto obfuscate than clarify, and wearies rather than enlightens the reader Understanding mathematics requires selectivity and focus Berlinski demonstr...Ugh Almost finished, but what a slog Picked this book up in an airport bookstore a few years ago obviously pre Kindle , and finally decided I should read it or get rid of it The subject matter is, of course, fascinating Berlinski s writing, however, seens almost guaranteed to discourage anyone from reading the book well, maybe graduate level humanities students would appreciate it hard to say, since I am not I have persevered because the historical context that Berlinski provides is Ugh Almost finished, but what a slog Picked this book up in an airport bookstore a few years ago obviously pre Kindle , and finally decided I should read it or get rid of it The subject matter is, of course, fascinating Berlinski s writing, however, seens almost guaranteed to discourage anyone from reading the book well, maybe graduate level humanities students would appreciate it hard to say, since I am not I have persevered b...This is a great addition to any study of the calculus I used it as part of the precalc class one year, and all the students asked to keep their copies Granted, it was a small class.Some enjoyable prose, but mostly a cheap script writer attempting to wax mathematical without waxing intelligent.Disclaimer there is an impossible to miss current of casual sexism in this slim volume This fact is all theregrettable owing to the book s genius I bought A Tour of the Calculus because its back cover compared it to God l, Escher, Bach That is a worthy comparison.David Berlinski starts the book saying that he would like to feel that that the reader says, Yes, that s it, now I understand , when he or she finishes reading the book And, sir, atleast this particular reader can report that you have succeeded.Calculus and the concepts behind it have always been the stuff that even people formally educated in its methods find difficult to fully comprehend or explain Yes, it works Yes, it is very useful to solve real life issues But some parts make sense wh David Berlinski starts the book saying that he would like to feel that that the reader says, Yes, that s it, now I understand , when he or she finishes reading the book And, sir, atleast this particular reader can report that you have succeeded.Calculus and the concepts behind it have always been the stuff that even people formally educated in its methods find difficult to fully comprehend or explain Yes, it works Yes, it is very useful to solve real life issues But some parts make sense while others don t, not in the normal way How does it all hang together How did it all get built up What are the foundational concepts and why are they foundational Beyond the techniques of differentiation and integration, what should one really know I read the book twice, and I think you have to do that to fully understand Un...It has been awhile since I read this I remember clearly the fine explanations of the origin of the limit in differential calculus This is very important because it represents a lot of modern mathematical weakness wherein formula are not possible and instead we use approximation and logical induction As you probably discovered in school, even simple equations with two unknowns can be difficult And at a higher level of difficulty, 5th degree polynomials can t be solved by anyone Today the lim It has been awhile since I read this I remember clearly the fine explanations of the origin of the limit in differential calculus This is very important because it represents a lot of modern mathematical weakness wherein formula are not possible and instead we use approximation and logical induction As you probably discovered in school, even simple equations with two unknowns can be difficult And at a higher level of difficulty, 5th degree polynomials can t be solved by anyone Today the limitations of mathematics have become painfully real as we try to model complex system behaviour in fields like fluid dynamics I think...I could not finish reading this I tried, I really tried But the author not only included incomplete and seemingly inaccurate maths, he in no way explained anything clearly, and he didn t do so in what I found to be an entertaining manner I even got most of his references which would be difficult for others with less of a background in the history of mathematics, but even those I didn t enjoy but internally groaned.I know a good deal of the underpinnings of calculus, and wh...

English
05 March 2017

David Berlinski