Mark Here is the way i look at.
first quantitate thinking was plain algebra. How many goats I have, how many ears of corn i need to feed the family. Then as we progressed a bit, geometry came into play, so we could figure out surface area and angles, build a few aqueducts and pyramids. All that was good and fine until the idea of 'rate of change" had to be pinned down in a written form. Let me explain it in layman's terms. We have all played catch, tossed and caught a few balls here and there. Then you ask a person to describe how to go about tossing and catching a raw egg or a water balloon, well that's where calculus ( unknown to you ) comes in. You can't throw the water balloon the way you throw a baseball, too much acceleration and it will burst, and when catching it, you have to move your hands, with the incoming projectile, to bring it to a gradual stop. Then you can get fancier and say " what the shortest distance of travel needed to stop that water balloon without bursting?" Today's society is functioning at a much faster pace. things like 'growth rate' and 'decline rate' have to be taken into account even when attempting to do a simple algebra problem. If you are a manufacturer of a certain product in Kansas, you have to keep your eyes open and notice that a new factory had just been built in Delhi, or Taipei, and what that means to your employment figures. Nothing moves on a linear line anymore, Euclidean geometry is passe. I see an even newer kind of calculus, that does not just plot the rate of change on a two dimensional line, but one that does third and forth dimensions. Or one that can stay in a 2 dimensional state on a graphing pad, but employs more variables in its calculus. So if you are a manufacturer working in the states, and you are trying to forecast your next year's sales, you need a new tool ( the new calculus) that will let you predict your future growth, by incorporating MORE variables into your equations. So a book publisher needs to have the insight to see where he is headed, now that the iPad is out. Record producers did not see where things were going when the Mp3 was invented. That multi dimensional rate of change can also be applied to the DQ calculus. What is Good today, may not be good tomorrow. Technology is good, putting people out of work is not. Where is the quality in that. ( I know I am oversimplifying things here) There is an old anecdote about the US ambassador visiting an elementary school in Beirut and asking a pupil how much 10+5 is, and the student replies " well that depends whether you are buying or selling". The calculus of place and time. Khaled ____________________________________________________________ 57-Year-Old Mom Looks 25 Mom Reveals $5 Wrinkle Trick That Has Angered Doctors! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4e484254234e76c703est04duc Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
