Robert Ghrist from University of Pennsylvania wrote in to tell us about his new, free Coursera course in single-variable Calculus, which starts on Jan 7. Calculus is one of those amazing, chewy, challenging branches of math, and Ghrist's hand-drawn teaching materials look really engaging.
Calculus is one of the grandest achievements of human thought, explaining everything from planetary orbits to the optimal size of a city to the periodicity of a heartbeat. This brisk course covers the core ideas of single-variable Calculus with emphases on conceptual understanding and applications. The course is ideal for students beginning in the engineering, physical, and social sciences. Distinguishing features of the course include:
the introduction and use of Taylor series and approximations from the beginning;
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a novel synthesis of discrete and continuous forms of Calculus;*
an emphasis on the conceptual over the computational; and*
a clear, entertaining, unified approach.
(Thanks, Robert!)
