why study calculus?

[aposiopetic]

The intarweb is less than helpful on this subject. The best arguments I can find are ones I've already thought of, which aren't terribly convincing to me (hence consulting the informatio-sphere). Any thoughts

Comments

[kushali]

I've actually been using calculus and discrete the last couple weeks for work. A lot of probability theory is based on calculus and/or summations. I've been using probability and statistics to help analyze data from our program. We're trying to answer simple questions like "What are kids finding hard?", "What videos are more fun?", "Is this record for an adult or a kid?". Since we can't actually ask our clients we have to do it with data analysis, and that means math.

A lot of academic papers will have "scary greek math" in them. Quite often calculus. Even if a vet doesn't do integrals every day at work (and really who does?) you do need the math background to understand published research. And being current on the research can make you a better vet.

Prof dePillis at Mudd does research on mathematical biology and models disease spreads and other cool things and its all crazy DEs and such.

You might point out to the daughter that as you get into higher math it gets less memorization based and more like solving puzzles. Its hard to make arithemtic errors when you're doing everything in terms of pi, and variables.

When would she be taking calculus? Next year? Junior year in high school? If she's way ahead I don't necessarily see any harm in letting her take a break. Especially if she's feeling overwhelmed or "like a freak" for being really smart. Its hard at that age to fit in and be smart, and I think its harder for a girl.

[aposiopetic]

She will probably take it Junior year - they don't plan to push her, but she's smart enough to see where this is going. Calculus is wrapped up in the decision for which HS to go to (which is 95% decided now, thanks to IB).

Actually, the published research thing is another good example - though Jason is right about her probably veering in another direction besides vet eventually. I'm just hoping she doesn't get turned off by calculus for the wrong reasons.