A History of Calculus
Osher Lifetime Learning Institute
Duke University
Class Taught Fall 2018
Instructor: Frank R. Brown, Jr.
Duke University
Class Taught Fall 2018
Instructor: Frank R. Brown, Jr.
Modern day calculus had a long incubation period stretching back into antiquity. We start by looking at modern-day concepts. Then we look to the past to see where the basic concepts originated. We investigate how close mathematicians came to the calculus before Newton. We continue with the Newton-Leibniz breakthrough and ensuing controversy. From that we assess the spread of calculus in Europe and its relative atrophy in England. We then consider the issues that arose as mathematicians struggled with the foundations of calculus and worked to provide a mathematically rigorousness foundation. Along the way we meet a rogue’s gallery of unusual functions that drove the process toward this rigorous foundation. A familiarity with high school algebra is assumed. Basic calculus concepts will be covered in class. This is a mathematics class: full attendance is highly encouraged since concepts build from week to week.