Teaching Myself Calculus at Sixty-Five

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/teaching-myself-calculus-at-sixty-five

by Brajeshwar • 4 years ago

58 16 4 years ago

jseliger• 4 years ago

This is about a 26-year old, not a 65-year old, but it's also of interest: https://nautil.us/how-i-rewired-my-brain-to-become-fluent-in... Also, HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8402859

x86x873• 4 years ago

Sounds like calculus is going to become an integral part of the author's life. Hope they make continuous small changes that will push them to their mathematical limits.

ryangittins• 4 years ago

This joke is kind of derivative.

alexk307• 4 years ago

There will probably be a series of comments like this. There must be a limit but it could be infinite.

labrador• 4 years ago

Someday when the life expectancy is 120 people will look back and wonder why the New Yorker mentioned his age of 65. Was it hard for 65 year olds back then to think logically, so doing it at 65 was some kind of achievement?

oneoff7862• 4 years ago

Unless we can find a way to stop or reverse aging that will never happen. And if we can it’ll be much longer than 120.

rad_gruchalski• 4 years ago

Hopefully the retirement age will increase, too!

entropicgravity• 4 years ago

To any one learning calculus if you're getting bogged down in all that " the limit as delta X goes to zero ..." stuff just forget about it. Instead, look up "non standard analysis" on wikipedia, use the dx and dy things as tiny tiny numbers and things will be much easier (and still correct).

0xMatt• 4 years ago

I'm in my late 30s, I recently started learning math again. I'm going back to the point I dropped out myself. highschool level.

somehow I managed to get a CS degree but I don't really understand how to simplify an algebra equation lol

and don't even get me started on geometry! I don't know who Sine, Cosine and Tangent are, but they haunt my dreams! they're always standing in a circle, it's freaky.

iancmceachern• 4 years ago

Calculus is beautiful

Teaching Myself Calculus at Sixty-Five

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