Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf]

Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by theCricketer on Thursday April 20, 2017 @11:18PM (#14162853)

MIT recorded a set of Calculus video courses back in 1970s that they have since made publicly available. It is taught by a lecturer named Herbert Gross. His style of lecturing is clear, he states why things are defined the way they are and derives everything from first principles. There is an unusual mix of rigor and focus on building understanding - where everything comes from. It also taught me that math is about reasoning logically and rigorously and we shouldn't always rely on intuition (at least while doing math). Deriving almost all the basic calculus results that were drilled into me from the basic concept of a limit, deltas and epsilons was really refreshing.

Compared to more recent OCW calculus videos, I found this to be better in terms of respecting the learner's intellect, presenting the whole proof rigorously and teaching the student to think a certain way.

Calculus Revisited: Single Variable Calculus | MIT OpenCourseWare - https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-18-006-calculus-revisited-...

Complex Variables, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra - https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-18-008-calculus-revisited-...

Calculus Revisited: Multivariable Calculus | MIT OpenCourseWare - https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-18-007-calculus-revisited-...

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by lunchladydoris on Friday April 21, 2017 @07:38AM (#14164611)

I just had a look at the first video in the first course on YouTube [0] and was delighted to see Herb Gross responding in the comments. Clearly this is a man who loves his subject and loves introducing it to others.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFRWDuduuSw

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by smnplk on Friday April 21, 2017 @08:55PM (#14170557)

Yes, what a gem of a man.He also posted his email address in the comments for a young high school student for any further help. He is 88 years old now, I hope he is in good health.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by flor1s on Saturday April 22, 2017 @12:14AM (#14171089)

That's so beautiful that I have to admit my eyes started to tear a little bit. It's lovely to live in a world in which wonderful people are empowered to touch people all over the world in such a powerful and profound way.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by Baeocystin on Saturday April 22, 2017 @07:34AM (#14172022)

That was a delight to watch. Genuine enthusiasm always is. Thanks for making me aware of Mr. Gross.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by dmix on Friday April 21, 2017 @02:45PM (#14168188)

Reminds me of the MIT SICP lecture videos from the 80s. The concepts of black box abstraction and the simplicity of using LISP like lego building blocks blew my mind and made me switch from being a UX designer dabbling in Rails to a full blown programmer.

It was still entirely relevant to today even though it was a few decades old as the fundamentals of computer science are still fundamental.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Op3QLzMgSY&list=PL8FE88AA54...

Hearing that intro music still brings a smile to my face.

I just happen to be relearning math right now as I dive deeper into data science and this is perfect timing. Going to watch this series once I get through my math proofs book ("Book of Proof" by Richard Hammack which I recommend to people getting into math https://www.amazon.com/Book-Proof-Richard-Hammack/dp/0989472...).

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by theoh on Saturday April 22, 2017 @06:30AM (#14171878)

The Book of Proof is freely available online: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~rhammack/BookOfProof/

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by ziikutv on Friday April 21, 2017 @12:49AM (#14163157)

So a while back, I said I am going to start writing "Colloquial books" about all of the courses I took as I relearn all of the stuff in my and other Engineering Branches (minus the grade-gun pointed at my head). One of the first courses are of course Calculus.

I skimmed through some of these video lectures, I wonder if I even should write books for this. Or simply href.

Thank you for the share. Will be of great help to me come summer.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by TsukiZombina on Friday April 21, 2017 @04:10AM (#14163844)

I thought the same as you!

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by ziikutv on Friday April 21, 2017 @07:38AM (#14164609)

Its going to be open source so, you can put your thoughts into action if you want. =D

Edit: add smiley face.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by tedd4u on Friday April 21, 2017 @12:50AM (#14163159)

Thanks for sharing this - watched the intro lecture and I'm hooked! This is my idea of "Netflix & chill"

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by jacobolus on Friday April 21, 2017 @01:56AM (#14163386)

Note that “Netflix and chill” is a euphemism for casual sex. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=netflix%20and...

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by gmfawcett on Friday April 21, 2017 @09:41AM (#14165479)

I learned of this euphemism one night at our family dinner table, when I suggested to our teenage kids that we all take some time after dinner to "Netflix and chill." Needless to say, they were a bit surprised by the suggestion. :)

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by hellofunk on Friday April 21, 2017 @04:38AM (#14163935)

How do you know that's not what he meant?

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by warent on Friday April 21, 2017 @04:43AM (#14163958)

Derivatives and chill prime

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by _e on Friday April 21, 2017 @12:30PM (#14167016)

Prime(s) and chill

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by vinchuco on Friday April 21, 2017 @02:24AM (#14163482)

I wonder sometimes if Netflix made this expression a meme for its advertising value or if it just came about as a natural meme

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by mhue on Friday April 21, 2017 @05:00AM (#14164023)

https://youtu.be/5H8XmXuljCs?t=1m25s

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by capedape on Saturday April 22, 2017 @12:47PM (#14173359)

Maybe a more apt term would be polymath porno.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by mttyng on Thursday April 20, 2017 @11:49PM (#14162975)

I watched those lectures in the early stages of my degree and, to confirm what you've stated, they helped me gain a more concrete understanding of the fundamentals of calculus. Highly recommended! Thanks for sharing.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by barking on Friday April 21, 2017 @05:02AM (#14164031)

I hope the folks at Gallaudet University don't come across these

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by kenny87 on Friday April 21, 2017 @03:26PM (#14168588)

at the opposite extreme, we should not always rely on logic and rigor when doing math - https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/there%E2%80%99s...

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by kazinator on Friday April 21, 2017 @03:29PM (#14168613)

Mathematics requires creativity. Conjectures do not arise from logic and rigor. If that were the case, they would never be wrong, and thus not require proof. If mathematicians don't come up with conjectures, then mathematics doesn't advance.

A formal system's territory is connected together by rigor; but whence comes the formal system itself? That has to be imagined.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by joericky233223 on Friday April 21, 2017 @06:39AM (#14164381)

>MIT recorded a set of Calculus video courses back in 1970s that they have since made publicly available.

    Could you please post the links to this videos.

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Re:Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf] by theCricketer on Friday April 21, 2017 @07:11AM (#14164511)

Sorry I should have made it more clear - the links are at the end of my comment.

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