Functions over time

I totally forgot how much I love math.  I mean, I didn't actually forget, but it's not something that comes up much.  Distance tends to dull impressions.

And by "math" I don't really mean algebra and trig and such.  To me, "math" means calculus.  It means differentials and integration and the relationships between functions...  The math of science.  The math that explains all the other math.

The first chapter for Calc-1 is always the basic stuff, limits and tangent lines and some proofs.  My first time through, it was definitely my least favorite part of the class, but it's still at least a little interesting.  This time, I didn't have a problem with it because I knew what was coming next.  Well, I say "didn't", but the test isn't until Thursday.  That's when we're officially done with this chapter.

But, due to time constraints during the week, I tend to do the homework assignments early on the weekend.  I finished all the remaining homework for this chapter on Saturday.  Then, on Sunday, I did the first assignment for the next chapter.

And fell in love again.

I mean, it's just basic differentiation.  For those who don't know, that's essentially calculating the relative differences between values in a function (hence the name), usually shortened to the slope for early stuff but eventually getting more complex.

But even just doing differentiation, we can start to describe the why behind all that crap we had to learn in geometry and trig and algebra 2, like how the relationship between the area of a circle and its circumference is the same as the relationship between the volume of a sphere and its surface area.

I'm having fun again.  I know I'll be (largely needlessly) nervous about the test on Thursday, just because it's the first test and it's on a topic I'm less enthused about.  But I know what's coming next, and I'm really looking forward to it.

This is why I enrolled in the first place, and it's what I completely missed my first attempt at college (I didn't take any science courses).  Even if the degree path doesn't work out, this is what I wanted to do.