Calculus the easy way
by Douglas Downing · first published 1982
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Playful, story-driven introduction to calculus that uses a fantasy-world setting to motivate its ideas. It has helped make the subject click, including for one student who later scored well on AP Calculus.
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…remember these books? Algebra the Easy Way - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6781.Algebra_the_Easy_Wa... Trigonometry the Easy Way - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2077099.Trigonometry_the... Calculus the Easy Way - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3074478-calculus-the-eas... I read these in 5th grade or so and learned most of middle school and high school math just from those. They're written as a fantasy…
on “Calculus Made Easy (1910)” ↗…used in educational videos like some of threeblueonebrown's on youtube, and I've also seen this used as a faux historical development of algebra and high school calculus in "Algebra: the easy way", and "Calculus: the easy way", which did a great job of motivating the development of most of the ideas in those courses. I'm not familiar with similar texts for higher level mathematics (which would have a different tone, since…
on “Learning math? Think like a cartoonist” ↗…start understanding it until later. The comics made me interested in the content, and I think was a key factor in my growing up enjoying math rather than despising it. I had a similar experience with "Calculus the Easy Way", and its predecessors "Algebra the Easy Way" and "Trigonometry the Easy Way", all of which I'd highly recommend. They teach the topics as though being invented for the first time by a kingdom finding…
on “What Would You Recommend to a Bright 14 Year Old?” ↗As a child, I greatly enjoyed "Algebra the Easy Way", "Trigonometry the Easy Way", and "Calculus the Easy Way". They present each of the subjects not as already-invented concepts that you just have to learn, but as things being invented by a fictional kingdom as they need them. I greatly prefer that style over…
on “Ask HN: Recommend a maths book for a teenager?” ↗My calculus teacher tried to talk me out of taking the AP Calculus AB exam because I wasn’t doing that well in his class. “Calculus the Easy Way” which teaches in the setting of a mythical fantasy world where applied problems are solved with calculus unlocked the secret of calculus for me. I ended up scoring a “4” which was a big triumph for me,…
on “Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson (1910)” ↗My father introduced this book to me when I was around 10. I will forever be grateful. https://www.worldofbooks.com/products/calculus-the-easy-way-...
on “Electronics for Kids, 2nd Edition” ↗Calculus the Easy Way. It's old but good.
on “Ask HN: good math books” ↗I first learned about calculus from, I think, this book, "Calculus the Easy Way" [1] (or, at least the first chapter or two). It does make use of some algebra, but you're not necessarily limited to the strict progression of pre-algebra -> algebra -> calculus. [1] (amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Easy-Way-Douglas-Downing/dp/...)
on “Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner” ↗