
A Case Against Calculus - hardmath123
http://hardmath123.github.io/case-against-calculus.html
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drallison
The author writes: "I just finished my last unit of BC Calculus in high
school, which gives me the ethos to talk about what I’m going to talk about."
Ethos is the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as
manifested in its beliefs and aspirations, so this article focuses on the
characteristic spirit of a student who finished high school calculus.

The author's point is that _we should not regard calculus as the pinnacle of
high school math education_. I certainly agree. The Calculus should just be
the beginning of a lifetime exploring and using mathematics as a tool. I am
reminded of two points made by Hamming:

1\. The calculus is probably the most useful single branch of mathematics.
...I have found the ability to do simple calculus, easily and reliably, was
the most valuable part of mathematics I ever learned.

2\. Understanding the methods of calculus is vital to the creative use of
mathematics... Without this mastery the average scientist or engineer, or any
other user of mathematics, will be perpetually stunted in development, and
will at best be able to follow only what the textbooks say; with mastery, new
things can be done, even in old,well-established fields.

Perhaps the educational system has failed anonymous blogger
_ComfortablyNumbered_ by not demonstrating the beauty and utility of the
Calculus (and of Mathematics in general).

~~~
blackflame7000
When most American school's curriculum is based on common core, there is
little room for demonstrating the beauty of math.

