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#Calculus literally means “small stone” or “pebble” in Latin (calculus = little stone used for counting) The name comes from the historical idea of breaking big, complicated things into tiny little pieces (like pebbles) that are so small they become manageable — then adding them all back up again. That’s actually the core philosophical idea behind both main branches of calculus!!!!!! >Differential Calculus< H0W TH1NG$ CHANGE?????? Finds instantaneous rates of change (slopes, velocity, growth rate right now) Like “How fast is your car going exactly at this moment?” >Integral Calculus< MAK1NG WH0£€ AGA1N?????? Adds up infinitely many infinitely small pieces Like “If you know speed every tiny moment, how far did you travel?” >ẞ0✝️H ✝️0GE✝️HER!!!!!!< The mathematics of continuous change Lets us handle things that are constantly changing/smoothing curves instead of only straight lines & steps so that The math that bridges “step-by-step” → “smooth reality” Super short modern explanation Calculus is the mathematics that lets us answer questions that contain the words: • instantaneous • exactly at that moment • continuously changing • infinitely many tiny pieces • approaching / getting arbitrarily close Quick real-world examples people actually care about • How fast is the rocket right now? → derivative • How much fuel will the rocket use in total if we know the burn rate every instant? → integral • What’s the best shape for a can that uses the least metal? → derivative (optimization) • How much water is in the weirdly shaped tank after 7.3 seconds? → integral • How does your GPS know your exact speed and predict where you’ll be? → calculus (repeated derivatives) So when people say “calculus”, they are really saying wtf is the #math that lets us handle smooth, continuous, ever-changing reality instead of only chunky, step-by-step, discrete situations or nah? Fucking Awe$om3 4 for something whose name originally just meant “a handful of tiny pebbles”, frfr? ✨👽✨