bloodhound Posted July 18, 2004 Posted July 18, 2004 what happened? i thought you were going to put more of your calculus lessons.
Dave Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 No time atm - don't know how many people are still interested in it also. I'll try and write another one this week sometime.
YT2095 Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 Another question for Dave. I`ve been lent a book called "Calculus Made Easy" by, Sylvanus P. Thompson. have you read it, and what`s your opinion on it? I`ve read the 1`st chapter and it seems alright so far, but I`ve heard it`s very over simplified as in there`s a lot of shortcuts. would you reccomend it as good reading, or am I likely to learn (some more) bad habits? LOL
Dave Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 I haven't read the book I'm afraid. There are a heck of a lot of calculus introduction books out there though, so my advice would be to find one that suits you best.
admiral_ju00 Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 Hey, just because I haven't posted anything in that thread, it does not mean I never went it there. It's rather that the information posted in those 2 threads is now safely sitting on my PC in the form of a *.doc
MulderMan Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 can i ask what is calculus? my maths teacher says it is "old" maths but i figure she either cant be rsed to telll me or doesnt know herself.
JaKiri Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 can i ask what is calculus? my maths teacher says it is "old" maths but i figure she either cant be rsed to telll me or doesnt know herself. If you're not doing a masters or higher, all maths is 'old' maths. Calculus is concerned with the rate of change of variables, and how you can get between them; for instance, how to get from distance, to speed, to acceleration and back again. It is by far the most useful piece of mathematics ever devised.
Dave Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 To add a bit of historical background, it was developed by Isaac Newton to solve the two-body problem - which shows how clever the man was really.
bloodhound Posted July 19, 2004 Author Posted July 19, 2004 don't forget leibniz!!!! he independently developed calculus, a dozen of years after newton . also his notation is far more logical and helped the rapid development of calculus from then on.
Dave Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 Indeed. But he didn't solve one of the most important problems of the time Although the Leibniz notation is a heck of a lot better than Newton's.
bloodhound Posted July 20, 2004 Author Posted July 20, 2004 wonder why newton didnt bother with the three body problem. or did he?
bloodhound Posted July 20, 2004 Author Posted July 20, 2004 yes i know its hard, just wondering if newton thought about the three body problem at all. or he just couldnt be bothered.
Dave Posted July 20, 2004 Posted July 20, 2004 Probably not. I don't even know whether the problem was around when Newton developed his ideas - it would make sense that it'd appear after Newton's discoveries sometime. Maybe even after his death?
jordan Posted July 20, 2004 Posted July 20, 2004 A three body problem being...three bodies orbiting each other?
bloodhound Posted July 20, 2004 Author Posted July 20, 2004 but surely, after solving the two body problem, he must have thought about the next one, which is the three body. its only logical that he should.
Dave Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 A three body problem being...three bodies orbiting each other? Yes; as in the Moon, Earth and Sun.
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