# Applied Calculus **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568 "2004-03-04T20:06:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![codemaster3001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@codemaster3001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codemaster3001)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/1 "2004-03-04T20:06:59Z")
Hello, I’m taking a calculus course right now and we are supposed to come up with some actual jobs that use calculus often. I looked on google but it’s not really that easy to find. I was going to say Math Teacher but im not sure how well that would work out for me. This is probably a simple question but i don’t really have any idea where to look. If you can give me some job titles that use calculus i can probably do the rest. So basically all I need are some job types that use calculus often. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/2 "2004-03-04T20:11:05Z")
Off the top of my head: [ul] [li]Electrical engineer (almost any engineer, actually)[/li][li]Astronomer[/li][li]Physicist[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/3 "2004-03-04T20:40:59Z")
**Economists** and certain people working with **Finance** are also big calculus users. (Sorry for making it sound like a drug!) And judging by some of the calculus questions I see, farmers, train drivers and construction workers (especially those pouring piles of sand) also have to use it 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/4 "2004-03-04T20:53:03Z")
Any analysis engineer, e.g. stress analyst, aerodynamicist, heat transfer analyst, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/5 "2004-03-04T20:56:00Z")
Pretty much any kind of engineer or scientist that you care to name uses calculus. ---
**Author:** ![codemaster3001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@codemaster3001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codemaster3001)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/6 "2004-03-04T22:14:28Z")
k thanks a lot for the help 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/7 "2004-03-05T02:13:48Z")
Change & Motion: Calculus Made Clear Clarifies the problems many students have with the calculus. \<[http://www.teach12.com/teach12.asp](http://www.teach12.com/teach12.asp)\> special pricing for short time. Not affiliated with the Teaching Co. Just received catalog in mail and passing info along to anyone needing help with cacl. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/8 "2004-03-05T05:16:07Z")
> [@codemaster3001](#): > > Hello, > I’m taking a calculus course right now and we are supposed to come up with some actual jobs that use calculus often. I looked on google but it’s not really that easy to find. I was going to say Math Teacher but im not sure how well that would work out for me. This is probably a simple question but i don’t really have any idea where to look. If you can give me some job titles that use calculus i can probably do the rest. So basically all I need are some job types that use calculus often. Thanks. Do you mean explicitly using the methods of the differential and integral calculi, or do you count using the ideas on an intuitive level? If you believe the Church-Turing thesis, _some_ part of a basketball player’s brain is using something equivalent to a calculus technique every time he makes a free throw. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/9 "2004-03-05T06:59:44Z")
Computer graphics folks use the idea of a definite integral all the time. Finding the best approximation of a curve using only square pixels through stepwise refinement at least bears a good resemblence to finding the best approximation of the area under a curve through stepwise refinement. I don’t know how much commonality the math has, but the ideas are there. (And if you want to discuss ideas, all computer floating-point math is shot through with the idea of the epsilon, or the value so small you always round it and values less than it to zero.) ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applied-calculus/232568/10 "2004-03-05T11:48:20Z")
> [@](#): > > If you believe the Church-Turing thesis, some part of a basketball player’s brain is using something equivalent to a calculus technique every time he makes a free throw. Along those lines, here’s an interesting article: [Do Dogs Know Calculus?](http://www.pen.k12.va.us/Div/Winchester/jhhs/math/lessons/calculus/dog.html)