RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Calculus is essential in understanding things in the world around us. Even simple things like velocity and acceleration can't truly be understood without calculus. In my opinion, all college students should be required to take Calc I and Calc II. Any calculus classes beyond that are more difficult, and really only necessary for people going into math and science.

Knowing math is like knowing how to use a computer. People who haven't done it much assume it's much harder than it actually is. Calculus really intimidated me in high school, but thankfully I conquered that fear enough to go on to earn a math minor in college. Funny how something that initially seemed so foreign and unknowable showed itself to be more and more elementary with pratice. With hindsight, I can tell you don't have to be a genius to do well in a calculus course. The students who do well are generally the ones most determined to overcome whatever initial challenges they encounter until they fully get the basic concepts.

Calculus can be a little difficult in the beginning, but once you understand its underlying premises, it can be quite easy and even interesting. The basic idea behind calculus is that differentials (instantaneous change) and integration (limit of the sum) act in an inverse relationship that allows us to measure the rate of change for certain problems. Such concepts are absolutely critical for understanding economics, where you measure such change variable to its given function over a stated period of time. It's important for engineering and any computer science-related field as well. It does take a little commitment to master the concepts, but you're one step ahead of the game if you do so.

Calculus is cool...if you understand it. I'm in calc 3 right now, and the basic idea behind it is that you use the stuff you learned in calc 1 and put it into 3D. My favorite part about Calc probably has to be derivatives and integrals b/c it's fairly straight forward, but once you get into sequences and series it sucks so bad.

There's some drudgery at the beginning, but you learn some sublime ideas, such as the concept of the limit, and the fundamental theorem. I liked infinite series myself; it's fascinating how some of the seemingly unrelated irrational numbers (pi, e, etc) prove to be closely related. OK that's all now, I'll stop, I know this stuff isn't a popular topic.