Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe

After the interview, as they were parting, Feynman asked Wouk if he knew calculus. No, Wouk admitted, he didn’t. “You had better learn it,” said Feynman. “It’s the language God talks.” (View Highlight)

If we dare to divide 6 by a number much closer to zero, say 0.0000001, the answer gets much bigger; instead of 60 or 600, now it’s 60,000,000. The trend is clear. The smaller the divisor, the bigger the answer. In the limit as the divisor approaches zero, the answer approaches infinity. That’s the real reason why we can’t divide by zero. The faint of heart say the answer is undefined, but the truth is it’s infinite. (View Highlight)

Mathematicians don’t come up with the proofs first. First comes intuition. Rigor comes later. (View Highlight)