There have been a few other attempts to convey the essence of calculus in prose form before A Stroll through Calculus. Perhaps theres a lesson we can derive from earlier efforts. Lets compare and contrast introductory paragraphs relating to objects in free fall. From A Tour of the Calculus: Now imagine a gorgeous tower, its parapet jewel-encrusted, the dreamy Perugian hills in the background, lacy clouds above. And on this tower an Italian dandy, dressed in silks puffed at the wrists and at his thighs, is fingering a large and lavish rose and rufous stone, a fabulous ruby or garnet, something luscious and lustrous. He dangles an elegant forearm over the parapet, holding the ruby in his upturned palm, and then slowly and with vast sensual deliberation rotates his wrist so that the precious stone, its cut facets catching the golden Tuscan light, slides from his polished palm and winking colored fire slips off into space. From A Stroll through Calculus: Obadiah is a young boy on the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, approximately 1053 ft above the ground. He’s tossing a penny in his hand. Obadiah throws it up into the air with an initial velocity of 48 ft/sec. He misses it as it comes back down toward him and he quickly loses sight of it as the penny plunges toward the ground. How long does it take for the penny to hit the ground? ==================== We have slightly different approaches here. ;-)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 02:43:55 +0000
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