The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Calculus is a powerful mathematical tool. But for hundreds of years after its invention in the 17th century, it stood on a shaky ...

In the late 19th century, Karl Weierstrass invented a fractal-like function that was decried as nothing less than a “deplorable evil.” In time, it would transform the foundations of mathematics.

In the Idea of Limits video, we introduce the idea of limits and discuss how it underpins all of the major concepts in calculus. In the Limit Laws video, we introduce the limit laws and discuss how to ...

For more than a century, calculus teachers have relied on a quiet sleight of hand. Limits, derivatives and integrals are introduced with vivid geometric pictures—tangent lines, areas under curves, r ...