It seems that angels will be brushing up on Riemann's Sum and l'Hôpital's Theorem by the time he gets there.

Louis Leithold, 80, author of the biblical The Calculus 7 (formerly known as the thick yellow The Calculus with Analytic Geometry--TCWAG during my college freshman days) passed away last April 29, succumbing to heart and pulmonary diseases and old age.

Like all college math professors I knew who have been theatrical at least once in their lives (one of my instructors, Vince Cruz starred in the short film "The Good Kisser of Manila", and was an SMB endorser), Leithold introduced one of the great debates in calculus complete with props, the works:

"...whether the system was invented by 18th-century English theorist Sir Isaac Newton or German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz — Leithold relied on cookies. He would bring in two plates of cookies, Fig Newtons on one and a brand called Leibnitz on the other. Then he would invite students to take their pick."

TCWAG and TC7 have been staples in the mathematics department of UP Diliman, and three courses on mathematical analysis literally split the book. Once our arms developed muscles while carrying TCWAG and we were through with it, we were ready to face the rigors of physical laws and computer science conjectures and the behavior of a heartbeat over time. Horny Cheesy college boy that I was.

For the full article on Leithold, go here. Image courtesy of LA Times.

This entry was posted by sky, on Thursday, May 12, 2005. You can leave your response.