Calculus

Have you read this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Wars-Leibniz-Greatest-Mathematical/dp/1560259922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265436264&sr=8-1

I haven't read the other guest's reference, but as I recall from physics class, Newton invented the calculus to solve the problem of how the earth attracts a mass (say an apple) at the earth's surface in the same manner it attracts a mass at a large distance, say the moon.

In order to do that, you have to divide the the earth's mass into a series of concentric shells, and calculate the attraction between an object at arbitrary distance from the shell; then sum the attraction over all shells. That is the essence of differential and integral calculus.

I'm not implying that Newton invented the calculus to the exclusion of Leibnitz; I simply don't care. But that is why Newton invented his version of it.

If you're interested in this sort of thing, there is a classic book written by a mathematician named E.T. Bell called "Men of Mathematics." You can find used copies on ebay or Amazon. A fascinating nontechnical read about the history of mathematics from ancient Greece to the twentieth century by a passionate mathematician.

emc_c

Without disagreeing with the notion that Newton and Leibniz were the authors of calculus, its probably true that others had thoughts/concepts in that direction. If I recall correctly Leonardo Da Vinci was one of these with evidence of calculus like concepts in some his work.

Include in your studies the contributions of Dr. Isaac Barrow, who was Newton's teacher and predecessor at Cambridge.

All about West what were the russians doing at that time. I thibk Soviets must have some kind off calculus out there but as usaual not documented by west!!

What a joke! Learn some history. Peter the Great was born thirty years after Newton, and it was Peter the Great who mostly unsuccessfully tried to pull Russia out of the Middle Ages and into the mainstream of European culture. Mathematically and scientifically Russia wasn't doing anything in the 17th century.

emc_c

Read Calculus

If I recall correctly the ancient greeks were also very close to inventing integral calculus. The concept of dividing something into incrementally smaller divisions to achieve a more accurate answer is very old indeed.