# Cal...cu...lus? What is this Cal..cu...lus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2000, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980 "2000-09-13T02:32:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jester/32/8223_2.png) [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/1 "2000-09-13T02:32:04Z")
Hey, all! I just got back from school, and GUESS WHAT! I’m in BC Calculus! Yes, BC, the insanely hard, time consuming, super-mega death threat two-college credit course! I’m still in shock! Help! Now, I know that for some you “smart” and “gifted” people, who are “good” at Calculus and math and such, this might not seem to hard. BUT, math is not exactly my, how shall we say, “strong” point. (Sorry, I’ll stop quoting things now). I dread this course. First term is trig, but then the calc starts, and I am very, very afraid. I am sure that I shall be raped by numbers in the worst way. Sine and Cosine will make me their bitch, and Pythagorus will tell me to go make him a sammich. So, don’t be suprised if I start posting random problems on the SDMB. I’m gonna need all the help I can get! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/2 "2000-09-13T02:34:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jester \* > **Sine and Cosine will make me their bitch, and Pythagorus will tell me to go make him a sammich** Bah! Sine and Cosine are the bitches of Integral and Derivative! Just wait and see. Better make sure those sammiches are cut into perfect triangles… ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/3 "2000-09-13T02:45:32Z")
Don’t be scared off by the name. It is really not that bad, especially if you have a good teacher. Pretty soon you’ll be doing triple integrations in your head and not thinking twice about it. ---
**Author:** ![Medea\_s\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Medea\_s\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medea_s_Child)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/4 "2000-09-13T03:00:34Z")
Calc’s fun stuff, dear. You’ll love it, I promise. After you are done with it, it gets much happier. We are always here for you. (The rest of these geniuses better back me up when I start throwing up over Calc 3…) The beginning is darn fun, though. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/5 "2000-09-13T03:05:35Z")
Fear not. The only thing about calculus that’s scary is the name. The best part about calculus: it makes sense. There’s logic underlying it, a method to its madness. And when you see that, it’s darn near fun. ---
**Author:** ![Angkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Angkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angkins)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/6 "2000-09-13T03:08:09Z")
Calculus _ **SHUDDER** _\*\* nuff said? ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/7 "2000-09-13T03:58:07Z")
AH yes, I remember a week of nights studying intensely a exam my first year of calculus… or to be more specific I remember the nightmare I had the night before the test… All I could think about were little integral signs and dx’s and functions floating around… I’d attempt to solve them… and fail to… they’d float around some more, rearrange themselves… and still fail to get solved… This dream lasted all night. Horrible, I tell you. Horrible. Not long after that I spent a long evening playing Tetris, and had very similar dreams. May you have better texts and better professors than I had. May you have weekly quizzes rather than have two huge midterms and one gigantic final dictating your final grade. Calculus actually can be fun, if taught right. The textbook I used had a separate book that gave the solutions to all the even-numbered problems. Except that half the solutions left out crucial steps, were incorrect, or both. Many of my instructors had similar deficiencies. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/8 "2000-09-13T04:08:13Z")
Calculus is a **tool of the devil!** It is **evil!** It must be **destroyed!** ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/9 "2000-09-13T04:25:09Z")
I hear it can be very painful, especially in the kidneys or spleen: cal·cu·lus: a concretion usually of mineral salts around organic material found especially in hollow organs or ducts Better see your doctor ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Brunetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@Brunetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brunetter)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/10 "2000-09-13T04:46:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jester \* > \*\*Now, I know that for some you “smart” and “gifted” people, who are “good” at Calculus and math and such, this might not seem to hard. BUT, math is not exactly my, how shall we say, “strong” point. (Sorry, I’ll stop quoting things now). > \*\* I know nothing about calculus, but I just wanted to thank you for making my night a little more entertaining by bringing to my mind that old Chris Farley sketch from SNL. I know I’m not “attractive” or “handsome”. I know I don’t “smell good”. I know I don’t “brush my teeth” or “wash my armpits”. I know I don’t wear the “right deodorant”. (etc) ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/11 "2000-09-13T07:47:51Z")
Just a question: why is the first bit of BC Trig? Wouldn’t that have been covered before AB? Maybe it’s just a different system, but that seems weird… **shrug** But it’s good stuff all around… ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/12 "2000-09-13T09:40:18Z")
Jester, I’d recommend taking a look at “Calculus Made Easy” by Sylvanus P. Thompson. I wish I had this book around when I was taking calc in college. Written at the turn of the century (don’t worry, calculus hasn’t changed that much), his whole attitude is ‘Calculus is easy. The problem is that some people take great pleasure in showing off how hard it can be made.’ His style is extremely straightforward and much easier to understand than any of the textbooks I used. Had I known about this book, I might not have switched my major to history. Good luck, –sublight. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/13 "2000-09-13T09:50:41Z")
Just remember: If you don’t know the answer, pick “C”. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/14 "2000-09-13T12:32:25Z")
…bought tutorial computer programs got a graphing calculator stayed after class for tutoring from the teacher got my then boyfriend to help me spent more time in the Math Lab (tutoring center) then I can count bought tutorial books like “Fun With Calculus!” and other groovy titles. End result? Took calc 1- passed (BARELY). Took calc 2. Thought I would die. Failed. Took calc 2 AGAIN. BARELY passed. Calculus is indeed a tool of the devil. It is evil and must be destroyed. Of course, I could be wrong! Zette 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dewt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@dewt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dewt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/15 "2000-09-13T14:32:48Z")
Well, I know what you mean. Math was my personal demon too. But I grabbed that beast by it’s slimy, sharp horns and wrestled back to the pits of horror from whence it came… My advice… understand the hell out of trig. Know it backwards and forwards, upside down and inside out. This will make all the difference in the world. **All** the difference. If you know the basics, then you will be able to see Calculus as the wonderful dance of numbers that it really is… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/16 "2000-09-13T14:53:00Z")
Dewt is right. Trigonometry is the key - it’s funny, taking Calculus in high school made me look back at Trig and Algebra and say “Aaaaaahhhhh…now I get it all!” It makes all the other stuff you learned by rote make sense. It’s a beautiful thing. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/17 "2000-09-13T15:06:10Z")
**magdalene** is right about **Dewt** being righ, trig is the key, it’s not that hard if you have a good teacher that isn’t there to inpress you with how smart they are. Get in good with the TA, if you have one, they can save your tukas. For the record: \*Statistics[/s] is bad, _Diff EQ_ is bad, _Applied Regression Analysis_ is bad, _Probabilty and Random Processes_ is evil, calc isn’t too bad (but it can seem that way at the time). Good luck, don’t forget to bring lots of paper. Lots. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/18 "2000-09-13T15:14:37Z")
You know I had thought that I had done all of my Math for college, then it turns out that I needed one more! :eek: so I ended up taking Calc. I thought it would be horrible, I got a “C” in College Algebra. but it turns out that the first half of calc was pretty easy, and I enjoyed it! I ended up taking calc 2 later on BECAUSE I liked calc 1 so much. I got a B in calc 1 and a C in 2 because I didn’t do all my work. it’s not that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/19 "2000-09-13T15:29:32Z")
calculus is rough. Calc level III is easy. Go figure. get through it any way you can, and when you get to college make sure its math department employs competent instructors. That’s more important than any study guide you could get your hands on. I got all the way to the 400 level before throwing in the towel and becoming an English major. ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980/20 "2000-09-13T16:20:43Z")
_FLASHBACK_ There I was sitting there in Calculus with my brain about to explode. “I can’t get this. What is he saying? How am I ever going to learn this?” I actually had 2 panic attacks in the first few weeks but forced myself to sit there until class was dismissed so that I wouldn’t embarass myself. My knuckles were white from me grabbing the edge of the desk so hard. The professor kept saying, “Don’t worry if your not getting all of this. It will come together.” You know what? It did. Before we took the first test, something clicked. I aced that math class. 😃 My advice: Don’t panic! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cal-cu-lus-what-is-this-cal-cu-lus/32980.md?page=2)