Deriving Integral Calculus — the Geometric Way.

Using simple english & geometry to prove integration formulas.

The Principia Mathematica (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

If you want less talk and more math, skip the following section. The good stuff awaits you there. :)

The Origin Story

A short while ago, I was chatting with an old school friend. The discussion (as it invariably does) veered towards the bygone era of school crushes, home-works & class bunks.

Then came the topic of the school curriculum, the fun subjects, the boring ones, and of-course the coup de grâce to my friends then hopes and dreams, Calculus.

Now, I liked Calculus. Truth be told, I liked most all subjects. Apart from Chemistry. Chemistry is an abomination unto science, and should be purged of all existence . But I digress.

On Further prodding, my friend had this to say

Calculus.. Specially Integration, has way too many formulas, that need to be memorised. Its not even maths.. there is no logic.. just practise the sums a 100 times, so that you can memorise the formulas and where and when to put it. It’s sooooooo ( yes, the so had these many o’s) boring!

Now, it is a fair point, the way the exams were (and probably still is) structured, this was a valid and, dare i say…