Calculus Made Easy
Encyclopedia
Calculus Made Easy is a book on calculus
originally published in 1910 by Silvanus P. Thompson
, considered a classic and elegant introduction to the subject. The original text continues to be available as of 2008 from Macmillan and Co., but a 1998 update by Martin Gardner
is available from St. Martin's Press
which provides an introduction; three preliminary chapters explaining functions, limits, and derivatives; an appendix of recreational calculus problems; and notes for modern readers. Gardner changes "fifth form boys" to the more American sounding (and gender neutral) "high school students," updates many now obsolescent mathematical notations or terms, and uses American decimal dollars and cents in currency examples.
Calculus Made Easy ignores the use of limits
with its epsilon-delta definition, replacing it with a method of approximation directly to the correct answer in the spirit of Leibniz, now formally justified in modern nonstandard analysis.
The original text is now in the public domain
under US copyright law (although Macmillan's copyright under UK law is reproduced in the 2008 edition from St. Martin's Press).
About the book
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
originally published in 1910 by Silvanus P. Thompson
Silvanus P. Thompson
Silvanus Phillips Thompson FRS was a professor of physics at the City and Guilds Technical College in Finsbury, England. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1891 and was known for his work as an electrical engineer and as an author...
, considered a classic and elegant introduction to the subject. The original text continues to be available as of 2008 from Macmillan and Co., but a 1998 update by Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...
is available from St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
which provides an introduction; three preliminary chapters explaining functions, limits, and derivatives; an appendix of recreational calculus problems; and notes for modern readers. Gardner changes "fifth form boys" to the more American sounding (and gender neutral) "high school students," updates many now obsolescent mathematical notations or terms, and uses American decimal dollars and cents in currency examples.
Calculus Made Easy ignores the use of limits
Limit of a function
In mathematics, the limit of a function is a fundamental concept in calculus and analysis concerning the behavior of that function near a particular input....
with its epsilon-delta definition, replacing it with a method of approximation directly to the correct answer in the spirit of Leibniz, now formally justified in modern nonstandard analysis.
The original text is now in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
under US copyright law (although Macmillan's copyright under UK law is reproduced in the 2008 edition from St. Martin's Press).
External links
The book itself- Silvanus P. Thompson, Calculus Made Easy: Being a Very-Simplest Introduction to Those Beautiful Methods of Reckoning which Are Generally Called by the Terrifying Names of the Differential Calculus and the Integral Calculus (New York: MacMillan Company, 2nd Ed., 1914). Also available as the (London: MacMillan and Co., Limited, 2nd Ed., 1914) printing, which isn't published under Thompson's name, but instead has the bylineBylineThe byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name, and often the position, of the writer of the article. Bylines are traditionally placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines place bylines at the bottom of the page, to leave more room for graphical...
of "by F.R.S." (i.e., Fellow of the Royal Society); also available as a different scanning here. (Re-typeset in LaTeX)
About the book
- NatureNature (journal)Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, Vol. 86, No. 2158 (March 9, 1911), p. 41, ; a review of the first edition; available here and here. - http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_9_21_98.html
- http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/books.html#calculus
- Carl Linderholm, College Mathematics JournalCollege Mathematics JournalThe College Mathematics Journal, published by the Mathematical Association of America, is an expository journal aimed at teachers of college mathematics, particular those teaching the first two years. It is a continuation of Two-Year College Mathematics Journal. It covers all aspects of mathematics...
, Vol. 31, No. 1 (January, 2000), pp. 77-79; a review of Silvanus P. Thompson, revised by Martin Gardner, Calculus Made Easy (St. Martin's Press, 1998).