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The Changing Concept Of Change: The Derivative From Fermat To Weierstrass, Judith V. Grabiner
The Changing Concept Of Change: The Derivative From Fermat To Weierstrass, Judith V. Grabiner
Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research
Historically speaking, there were four steps in the development of today's concept of the derivative, which I list here in chronological order. The derivative was first used; it was then discovered; it was then explored and developed; and it was finally defined. That is, examples of what we now recognize as derivatives first were used on an ad hoc basis in solving particular problems; then the general concept lying behind them these uses was identified (as part of the invention of calculus); then many properties of the derivative were explained and developed in applications both to …