Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds A boat is sailing up a racecourse. How much should it tighten against the wind, and when should it tack to cover the leg in the shortest possible time? What are the optimal dimensions of a soda can that use the least amount of aluminium to manufacture it? The COVID-19 pandemic introduced us to a well-known number, the R number, a way of rating coronavirus or any disease’s ability to spread. But how is R defined? To answer these and many other questions, we need Differential Calculus. Differential Calculus, or as Newton simply called it, Calculus, represents a revolution in scientific thinking. Our modern and technological life would be simply unthinkable without these tools.
Skip to 0 minutes and 55 seconds That’s why, whether you’re a freshman, or a professional, the study of any scientific or technological discipline cannot do without a solid understanding of Calculus. I am Paolo Guiotto, I teach Calculus at the Faculty of Engineering at University of Padua, and I am here to guide you through this discovery. Starting from scratch - namely, from the basics of real numbers - we will quickly learn limit operations, applying them to sequences, infinite sums, and functions, leading up to Differential Calculus.
Skip to 1 minute and 28 seconds You will learn to take a complex problem in a straightforward way, such as giving a mathematical form to an optimization problem, solving it, and interpreting the results, You will acquire the technical skills, such as calculating limits and derivatives or discussing the convergence of infinite sums, which will be useful in other fields like Physics, Biology or Economics. So, aren’t you curious? Great! It’s time to board and take off!
