BookshelfJacob deGroot-Maggetti

Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe – Steven Strogatz

Thoughts: Steven Strogatz is such a good communicator! While there were passages that I struggled through, on the whole Strogatz succeeds admirably in communicating the import and impact of calculus, as well as conveying his excitement about the topic.

(The notes below are not a summary of the book, but rather raw notes - whatever I thought, at the time, might be worth remembering. I read this as an e-book, so page numbers are as they appeared in the app I used, Libby.)

Strogatz, Steven. 2019. Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Introduction

1. Infinity

2. The Man Who Harnessed Infinity

3. Discovering the Laws of Motion

4. The Dawn of Differential Calculus

5. The Crossroads

6. The Vocabulary of Change

7. The Secret Fountain

8. Fictions of the Mind

9. The Logical Universe

10. Making Waves

11. The Future of Calculus

Conclusion

Posted: Apr 25, 2022. Last updated: Aug 31, 2023.