Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe

Without calculus, we wouldn't have cell phones, TV, GPS, or ultrasound. We wouldn't have unraveled DNA or discovered Neptune or figured out how to put 5,000 songs in your pocket.

Though many of us were scared away from this essential, engrossing subject in high school and college, Steven Strogatz's brilliantly creative, down-to-earth history shows that calculus is not about complexity; it's about simplicity. It harnesses an unreal number--infinity--to tackle real-world problems, breaking them down into easier ones and then reassembling the answers into solutions that feel miraculous.

Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves (a phenomenon predicted by calculus). Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to make electricity with magnets; how to ensure your rocket doesn't miss the moon; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.

As Strogatz proves, calculus is truly the language of the universe. By unveiling the principles of that language, Infinite Powers makes us marvel at the world anew.

從卓越的數學專家和《The Joy of x》作者開始，這本書精彩而引人入勝地解釋了微積分的原理，以及為什麼微積分使我們的生活變得更好。沒有微積分，我們就沒有手機、電視、GPS或超聲波。我們也無法解開DNA的謎團，發現海王星，或是想出如何將5000首歌放進口袋裡。

儘管許多人在高中和大學時被這個重要而引人入勝的科目嚇跑，史蒂文·斯特羅格茲（Steven Strogatz）的創意非凡、平易近人的歷史表明，微積分並不複雜，它是關於簡單性的。它利用一個虛數——無窮大——來解決現實世界的問題，將其分解為更容易的問題，然後將答案重新組合成令人驚奇的解決方案。

《Infinite Powers》講述了微積分如何引起其發明者的興奮，從古希臘時期的微弱跡象開始，一直到發現引力波（這是微積分預測的現象）。斯特羅格茲揭示了這種數學形式如何應對每個時代的挑戰：如何只用沙子和一根棍子來確定圓的面積；如何解釋為什麼火星有時會“倒退”；如何用磁鐵發電；如何確保你的火箭不會錯過月球；如何在對抗愛滋病的戰鬥中扭轉局勢。

正如斯特羅格茲所證明的，微積分真正是宇宙的語言。通過揭示這種語言的原則，《Infinite Powers》讓我們對世界感到驚奇。

STEVEN STROGATZ is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University. A renowned teacher and one of the world's most highly cited mathematicians, he has blogged about math for the New York Times and The New Yorker and has been a frequent guest on Radiolab and Science Friday.

STEVEN STROGATZ是康奈爾大學應用數學的Jacob Gould Schurman教授。他是一位著名的教師，也是世界上引用次數最高的數學家之一。他曾為《紐約時報》和《紐約客》撰寫數學部落格，並經常在《Radiolab》和《Science Friday》節目中擔任嘉賓。